A RARE CLAIR-DE-LUNE APPLE-SHAPED JAR, PINGUO ZUN MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI

of compressed globular form, the tapering sides supported on a concave base, rising to a narrow waisted neck recessed into the shoulder and forming a deep channel around the rim, evenly applied on the exterior and on the interior with a flawless glaze of very pale caesious-blue colour, save for the rim and base left white, the latter inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark arranged in three lines

Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d’Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 147 (illustrated).

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1786.

There is a 7.5 cm. hairline crack to the shoulder on one side and the rim may have been very slightly polished in one area, but apart from this the jar is in good condition. There are some faint pinpricks around the mouthrim. 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."

Vessels of this form and glaze colour, which in Chinese is referred to as ‘sky blue’ (tian lan), are rare, but four similar examples from the Widener collection, assembled in the 19th and early 20th century, are preserved in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., published in Virginia Bower et al., The Collections of the National Gallery of Art. Systematic Catalogue: Decorative Arts, part 2: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings; Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets, Washington, D.C., 1998, pp. 93-7; one in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 216; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 240; and one in the Baur Collection, Geneva, in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, vol. 2, pl. 178.

This apple shape is also known from a single example with a copper-red ‘peachbloom’ glaze, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from the Havemeyer collection, published in Valenstein, op.cit., pl. 238. The function of this form, which is generally considered to have served as a water vessel for the writing desk, is not known, since it would not be well suited for that purpose.