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Lot Essay
The shape is in imitation of a Han Dynasty bronze hu vase, and archaic bronze vases of this type were undoubtedly available in the Imperial collections in the 18th century. Ru glazes have traditionally been much admired by Chinese connoisseurs, and were copied on porcelain as early as the 15th century. Excavations at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen have revealed that Ru-type glazes were being made for the Ming imperial court. In 1984 a porcelain bowl with inverted rim and Ru-type glaze was excavated from the Xuande stratum at the imperial kilns published in Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Urban Council Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 276-7, no. 97. The imitation of this revered glaze became even more popular at court in the 18th century under the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors.
Large Yongzheng-marked vases of this form covered in this glaze are extremely rare. Compare to a slightly smaller ru-glazed fanghu with a Yongzheng seal mark, also from a French collection, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3316. See a very simlarly decorated but smaller Yongzheng-marked guan-type glazed hu vase, from the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, sold in Christie's New York, 19 March 2015, lot 426.
Large Yongzheng-marked vases of this form covered in this glaze are extremely rare. Compare to a slightly smaller ru-glazed fanghu with a Yongzheng seal mark, also from a French collection, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3316. See a very simlarly decorated but smaller Yongzheng-marked guan-type glazed hu vase, from the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, sold in Christie's New York, 19 March 2015, lot 426.