Lot Essay
The inspiration for this very rare vase appears to be qingbai porcelain of Song and Jin dynasty date. The pale, blue-green colour and the translucent quality of the glass are reminiscent of qingbai glazes. The shape and out-turned foliations of the mouth rim are related to those of two qingbai vases, with fuller bodies, illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, nos. 606 and 607. See, also, a Cizhou-type vase, dated to the Jin dynasty, in the National Museum, Tokyo, illustrated by M. Tregar, Song Ceramics, New York, 1982, p. 78, no. 76, which has a stepped shoulder similar to that of the present vase, as well as a very similar out-turned mouth rim.