A SUPERB TEADUST-GLAZED DOUBLE-GOURD VASE WITH HANDLES INCISED SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT. CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS MAY BE REQUESTED BY SOTHEBY'S TO COMPLETE THE PRE-REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORM AND TO DELIVER TO SOTHEBY'S A DEPOSIT OF HK$2,500,000, OR SUCH OTHER HIGHER AMOUNT AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY SOTHEBY'S, AND ANY FINANCIAL REFERENCES, GUARANTEES AND/OR SUCH OTHER SECURITY AS SOTHEBY'S MAY REQUIRE IN ITS ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AS SECURITY FOR THE BID. THE BIDnow ONLINE BIDDING SERVICE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PREMIUM LOTS.

 

elegantly potted of double-gourd form with a globular lower bulb rising to a waisted neck and a smaller upper bulb with an incurved rim, the mouth flanked by a pair of arched ruyi-shaped handles attached to the shoulders on the lower bulb, the neck collared by a raised ring above a faint fillet around the top of the lower bulb, covered overall with an olive-coloured glaze flecked with a fine yellow mist, the glaze thinning to brown at the mouth and along the raised areas on the handles, the base incised with a six-character reign mark beneath a brown glaze

Acquired in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s.

Zandelou Qingdai guanyao danseyou ciqi/Qing Imperial Monochromes. The Zandelou Collection, Shanghai Museum, Beijing Museum and Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005, cat. no. 51.

Helen D. Ling and E.T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, vol. IV, Hong Kong, 1950, pl. 196.

The overall condition is very good with only a slight irregularity in the glaze near the base of one handle. The actual colour is quite close to the catalogue illustration.
"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."

This gourd shape was developed in the Yongzheng reign and appears to have been one of the favorites of the Yongzheng Emperor, as Yongzheng examples are known with a great variety of different glazes and decorated in different styles. Qianlong versions are extremely rare altogether and the shape is seldom seen with a ‘teadust’ glaze. A related gourd shape was also produced with the lower part cut flat, and a ‘teadust’-glazed piece of that form, also of Qianlong mark and period, was included in the exhibition Anthology of Chinese Art. Min Chiu Society Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1985-6, cat. no. 188, from the collection of J.E. Hotung.

A pair of Yongzheng vases of this form with ge-type glaze, were in the collection of Edward T. Chow: one later in the collection of Robert Chang was sold in these rooms, 25^th November 1980, lot 90, and again 25^th April 2004, lot 262; the other, illustrated in Michel Beurdeley and Guy Raindre, Qing Porcelain. Famille Verte, Famille Rose, London, 1987, pl. 234, was sold in these rooms 19^th May 1981, lot 498. Compare also a Yongzheng flask with Jun-type glaze, sold in our London rooms, 11^th December 1979, lot 328.