A FINE MINIATURE CELADON PEAR-SHAPED VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

elegantly potted with a ribbed globular body rising to a cylindrical neck flanked by a pair of tubular lug handles, covered overall in an unctious celadon glaze pooling in the furrows, the base similarly glazed with a four-character reign mark in underglaze blue

Irene Taylor, New York, June 1961.

The overall condition is very good. The glaze is very even throughout,
"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 interest in antiques in the Qing Dynasty concentrated on archaic bronzes, Song ceramics and early Ming porcelains. Song ceramics of all types were copied by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, particularly since the Yongzheng period, and this interest continued under the Qianlong emperor. Celadon glazes were replicated through many different kinds of monochrome greenish glazes. The lobed shape of the present piece is not known from the Song period, when similar vases had a plain rounded body. A similarly shaped blue-and-white birdcage vase of Xuande mark and period from the collection of Alfred and Ivy Clark and now in the Meiyintang collection was sold in our London rooms, 17th December 1996, lot 55, and is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, London, 2010, pl. 1656.

Shape and glaze follow closely a model produced in the Chenghua reign, of which a discarded example with a square reign mark has been discovered at the waste heaps of the Ming imperial kiln sites, see Jingdezhen chutu Mingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Ming imperial kilns excavated at Jingdezhen], Beijing, 2009, pl. 098 (fig. 1); and another with a circular reign mark, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 220.

Compare also three miniature Qing dynasty vessels of similar shape but with wider neck in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, one with a celadon glaze, one with a greyish crackled glaze and one with a tea-dust glaze, all attributed to the Yongzheng period and perhaps bearing the reign mark, included in the Catalog of the Special Exhibition of K'ang-Hsi, Yung-Cheng and Ch'ien-Lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, no. 57; another tea-dust glazed example of Yongzheng mark and period from the Qing court collection is still in Beijing and is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, op.cit., pl. 242.