Lot Essay
Vases of this type are also known as heban ping, referring to the narrow petals as being lotus rather than chrysanthemum petals. This was the opinion of Ralph M. Chait in his article, 'The Eight Prescribed Peachbloom Shapes bearing K'ang Hsi Marks', Oriental Art, vol. III, No. 4, Winter 1957, pp. 130-7. However, over time they have become most commonly known as 'chrysanthemum' vases, or juban ping. They are one of the peachbloom-glazed vessels known as the 'Eight Great Numbers', ba da ma, which are some of the most sophisticated and distinguished of all imperial porcelains.
Stephen Bushell in Oriental Ceramic Art: illustrated Examples from the Collection of W.T. Walters, 1899, New York, new ed., London, 1981, discussses the variations in the peachbloom glaze and notes that "the Chinese, in comparing the colour, have thought of the apple rather than the peach; it is pingguo hong (apple red), and the markings on it are pingguo qing (apple green), and mei gui ci (rose-crimson)," as well as "jiangdou hong (bean red), in allusion to the small Chinese kidney bean, with its variegated pink colour and brown spots."
Vases of this type are in major institutions and collections worldwide. See, also, the example sold in these rooms, 29 March 2006, lot 450.
Stephen Bushell in Oriental Ceramic Art: illustrated Examples from the Collection of W.T. Walters, 1899, New York, new ed., London, 1981, discussses the variations in the peachbloom glaze and notes that "the Chinese, in comparing the colour, have thought of the apple rather than the peach; it is pingguo hong (apple red), and the markings on it are pingguo qing (apple green), and mei gui ci (rose-crimson)," as well as "jiangdou hong (bean red), in allusion to the small Chinese kidney bean, with its variegated pink colour and brown spots."
Vases of this type are in major institutions and collections worldwide. See, also, the example sold in these rooms, 29 March 2006, lot 450.