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Lot Essay
The vase is described as an amphora after the Greek shape, but it is known in Chinese as Guanyin ping as its shape compares well to the libation vase said to contain ambrosia held by many figures of Guanyin, as depicted in paintings and sculptures. It is also known in Chinese as liuye ping, 'willow-leaf vase', owing to its elegant form which resembles that of a willow leaf.
Kangxi examples are illustrated by S. Valenstein, Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, pl. 138; by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, p. 176, pl. 817; in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 139, pl. 122, from the Beijing Palace Museum; in the Special Exhibition of K'ang-Hsi, Yung-Cheng, Ch'ien-Lung Porcelain Ware from the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 8; by J. Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva, 1972, vol. III, no. A303; by Liu Liang-yu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 5, pl. 55, from the Shanghai Museum; included in the Hong Kong Museum of Art exhibition, The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, 1984, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 29; and by R. M. Chai in his article 'The Eight Prescribed Peach-bloom Shapes Bearing the K'ang Hsi Marks', published in Oriental Art, 1957, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 130-137, where he praises the elegant form of the vase.
Kangxi examples are illustrated by S. Valenstein, Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, pl. 138; by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, p. 176, pl. 817; in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 139, pl. 122, from the Beijing Palace Museum; in the Special Exhibition of K'ang-Hsi, Yung-Cheng, Ch'ien-Lung Porcelain Ware from the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 8; by J. Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva, 1972, vol. III, no. A303; by Liu Liang-yu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 5, pl. 55, from the Shanghai Museum; included in the Hong Kong Museum of Art exhibition, The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, 1984, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 29; and by R. M. Chai in his article 'The Eight Prescribed Peach-bloom Shapes Bearing the K'ang Hsi Marks', published in Oriental Art, 1957, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 130-137, where he praises the elegant form of the vase.