A FINE AND RARE CELADON-GLAZED GARLIC-MOUTH VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

supported on a slightly splayed foot, the compressed pear-shaped body rising to a tall cylindrical neck encircled by five bow-string bands, all beneath a wide garlic-shaped mouth, applied overall with an even pale celadon glaze, the recessed base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark, the unglazed footrim dressed with a brown wash

Collection of A.W. Bahr (1877-1959).
Sotheby's New York, 7th December 1983, lot 314.
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Nipon, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st November 1994, lot 112.

The vase is in overall very good condition. The colour of the glaze is consistent with 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 vase, with its elegant subdued form and even luminous glaze, has been inspired by Song Longquan celadon vases and represents the Yongzheng emperor’s admiration for celebrated Chinese ceramics and archaism and his desire to uphold such traditions in a fresh and innovative manner. The range of newly-developed glazes is recorded by Stephen W. Bushell in Oriental Ceramic Art, London, 1981, pp. 195-205, where he translates the official list of the designs and colours produced at the Imperial manufactory in the reign on Yongzheng including a variety of copies of Song glazes ‘copied from the colours of the glazes of ancient pieces sent from the imperial palace’.

The form of the vase is most likely to have its origins in bronze hu vessels of the Han dynasty which inspired similar vessels to be cast in the Song dynasty as well as potted in ceramics, and continued to be created in the Ming period. Compare a bronze vase attributed to the Song dynasty illustrated in the catalogue to the exhibition The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, p. 184, fig. 48j; and a Longquan celadon version illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 103. Both bronze and ceramic vases are decorated with horizontal bands encircling the body and neck, although the neck of the latter tapers to a flared everted rim. For Longquan celadon vases of this form and decoration attributed to the Ming dynasty, but with a tall straight neck and a galleried rim, see two published in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pls. 769 and 770. By limiting the moulded rings to the neck which culminates in a garlic mouth, the present vase has been endowed with a contemporaneity while still being firmly rooted in tradition.