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Lot Essay
This vase exhibits an exceptionally rich flambé glaze, characterized by its thick texture and deep, varying tones of intense purple and lavender-blue. The distinctive glaze seeks to emulate the renowned Jun wares of the Song dynasty, with its splashes and streaks described as yao bian, or "transmutation glaze." The form, inspired by early pottery and bronze hu vessels of the Han dynasty, reflects the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors' fascination with creating vessels that referenced earlier periods.
As early as the third (1725) and sixth year (1728) of the Yongzheng reign, the emperor ordered the Jun vessels in the Palace to be identified, leading to requests for this glaze type to be reproduced at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. In the seventh year of the Yongzheng reign (1729), Tang Ying, the renowned Superintendent of the imperial kilns, sent Wu Yaopu to Junzhou in Henan to investigate the original Jun glaze recipes. Wu's mission was evidently successful, as palace records indicate that from 1730 onward, the emperor frequently ordered the firing of Jun-type vessels (see Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, Taipei, 2009, pp. 227-228).
This particular vase, with the combination of its large size and distinctive archaistic "ring" decoration, is exceedingly rare. A closely-related shape can be seen in Southern Song Guan ware, such as the octagonal celadon vase in the collection of the National Museum of Taipei (K1B017701N000000000PAC), inscribed with a poem by Emperor Qianlong in 1772. A smaller Yongzheng-marked compressed globular vase, similar in shape to the current example, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated by Geng Baochang in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 292-293, no. 132. Compare a slightly smaller flambé-glazed Qianlong-marked vase (48 cm.), although with gilt decoration, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 37 - Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pp. 202-3, no. 182.
A smaller flambé-glazed vase (38.4 cm high), bearing a Yongzheng mark, was sold at Christie’s New York on 20 September 2024, lot 1013, for USD 239,400 (fig.1).
As early as the third (1725) and sixth year (1728) of the Yongzheng reign, the emperor ordered the Jun vessels in the Palace to be identified, leading to requests for this glaze type to be reproduced at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. In the seventh year of the Yongzheng reign (1729), Tang Ying, the renowned Superintendent of the imperial kilns, sent Wu Yaopu to Junzhou in Henan to investigate the original Jun glaze recipes. Wu's mission was evidently successful, as palace records indicate that from 1730 onward, the emperor frequently ordered the firing of Jun-type vessels (see Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, Taipei, 2009, pp. 227-228).
This particular vase, with the combination of its large size and distinctive archaistic "ring" decoration, is exceedingly rare. A closely-related shape can be seen in Southern Song Guan ware, such as the octagonal celadon vase in the collection of the National Museum of Taipei (K1B017701N000000000PAC), inscribed with a poem by Emperor Qianlong in 1772. A smaller Yongzheng-marked compressed globular vase, similar in shape to the current example, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated by Geng Baochang in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 292-293, no. 132. Compare a slightly smaller flambé-glazed Qianlong-marked vase (48 cm.), although with gilt decoration, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 37 - Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pp. 202-3, no. 182.
A smaller flambé-glazed vase (38.4 cm high), bearing a Yongzheng mark, was sold at Christie’s New York on 20 September 2024, lot 1013, for USD 239,400 (fig.1).