A FLAMBÉ-GLAZED HU-SHAPED VASE QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD

of archaic bronze form, the pear-shaped body rising from a slightly spreading foot to a waisted neck encircled with a raised fillet and set with a pair of animal mask handles suspending fixed rings, covered overall with a glaze of brilliant streaked purple-blue and crimson colour thinning to a lilac-blue and cream tone with a slight crackle around the lug handles and rim, the base in a coffee wash with pale russet splashes and bearing an incised six-character Qianlong seal mark

Bluett & Sons, London.

The vase has a 5.5cm hairline running across the base. The base seems to have been broken and restored, as evident from a three-point star crack branching out to a long (circa 13cm) crack which runs horizontally along the foot and then rejoins with the star crack with adjacent cracks measuring circa 5cm. There are generally other glaze imperfections including burst glaze bubbles, iron spots, minor glaze chips and surface scratchings.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The rich brilliance of the deep purplish-blue glaze of the present vase is accentuated by the light blue enamel of the handles which has trickled down the side to heighten the overall dramatic effect. It is unusual for its small size and no closely related example appears to have been published. For a Qianlong vase of this form and glaze, but of much larger dimensions, see one from the F.C. Harrison collection, formerly on loan at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1903, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29^th November 1976, lot 568; and another was sold in these rooms, 27^th November 1973, lot 381.

Compare the Yongzheng prototype, but of slightly larger size; such as one in the Palace Museum, Beijing illustrated in Qingdai yuyao ciqi, vol. I, pt. II, Beijing, 2005, pl. 139; and another from the collections of N.H.P. Huth and Edward T. Chow, sold in these rooms, 26^th April 1966, lot 110, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 25^th November 1980, lot 85, and published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 834.