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

The present vase is covered in peachbloom glaze, applied around the shoulder with a green-glazed coiled chi-dragon. Among Kangxi peachbloom-glazed wares, the 'coiled dragon' vase is the rarest form. Compare to a similar example in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no. 14.40.362 (fig.1).

Due to the extreme difficulty in the firing of the peachbloom glaze, surviving examples are predominantly small scholar's objects—such as washers, seal paste boxes, and Taibai zun—while upright vessels of this type are exceptionally rare, further enhanced by the chi-dragon decoration. The Qing dynasty ceramic treatise Yinliu Zhai Shuo ci describes the beauty of the glaze: 'the finest 'Beauty's Blush' glaze shows flecks of bright red and tea-brown against a pale ground, with green tones visible when viewed against the light'. This green effect is the result of kiln transmutation, caused by oxidation of the copper-red glaze, producing a fascinating interplay of green and red—evoking the celebrated poetic verses dedicated to peachbloom glaze by the Qing dynasty poet Hong Liangji: 'Green as spring water at dawn, red as sunrise at the break of day.'