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Lot Essay
The present vase has an extremely rare form, not many pear-shaped vases are as deeply compressed with the centre of gravity so far down the lower body as in the present example. Firing a vase of this form successfully would have been extremely difficult with a high probability of the body sagging or leaning to one side which may explain why no other vases of this full, elegant shape appear to be published. The most comparable example of this shape but decorated with a celadon glaze from the J. M. Hu Family and Robert Chang Collections, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 2 November 1999, lot 518.
Three related Yongzheng examples of this compressed form, all with a lipped mouth and several bow-strings decorating the long cylindrical neck in flambe glaze, are known. The first of these vases is illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 279, no. 108. Two other vases are in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated by Lu Chenglong, Qingdai Yuyao Ciqi, Juan 1, Forbidden City Press, 2005, p. 289, no. 130, and p. 297, no. 134.
One of the notable features of the robin's egg glaze is the variation of the mottling that can achieved. The present vase is half way between the typical peacock-feather glazes as exemplied by the moonflask from the Robert Chang Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1305; and the streaked glazes such as the cong-shaped vase in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 209, p. 188.
Three related Yongzheng examples of this compressed form, all with a lipped mouth and several bow-strings decorating the long cylindrical neck in flambe glaze, are known. The first of these vases is illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 279, no. 108. Two other vases are in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated by Lu Chenglong, Qingdai Yuyao Ciqi, Juan 1, Forbidden City Press, 2005, p. 289, no. 130, and p. 297, no. 134.
One of the notable features of the robin's egg glaze is the variation of the mottling that can achieved. The present vase is half way between the typical peacock-feather glazes as exemplied by the moonflask from the Robert Chang Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1305; and the streaked glazes such as the cong-shaped vase in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 209, p. 188.