YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

The beauty of Song dynasty glazes was greatly admired by the emperors of the Qing dynasty, and the potters at the imperial Jingdezhen kilns were charged with the task of reproducing these glazes on porcelain. The crackled celadon glaze seen on the present lot is an interpretation of guan ware, one of the most sought-after and treasured wares of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) , while its shape is derived from bronze vessels of the Zhou (C.1100-256BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties.

One example of the Southern Song dynasty guan vase prototype of similar form as the current lot, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Sung Dynasty Kuan Ware, Taipei, 1989, no.8. Compare to a Yongzheng-marked guan-type glazed vase of similar pear-shaped body but with animal-head handles, sold at Christie’s New York, Sacred and Imperial: The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection Part II, 24 September 2020, lot 852.