KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1662-1722)

The shape of this vase is sometimes described as Guanyin ping, referring to the shape of the vase held by many figures of Guanyin, and said to contain ambrosia or magic elixir. It is also known as liuye zun, 'willow-leaf vase', owing to its elegant form which resembles that of a willow leaf. It is one of the ba da ma or 'Eight Great Numbers', eight specific vessels covered in a peachbloom glaze.

Similar Kangxi-market amphoras are in major institutions worldwide including the Palace Museum, Beijing; the Shanghai Museum; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the National Palace Museum, Taipei; and the Baur Collection, Geneva. See, also, the example sold at Christie's New York, 15 September 2016, lot 918, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and formerly in the Mary Stillman Harkness (1874-1952) Collection.