AN ARCHAISTIC TEA-DUST-GLAZED 'BRONZE-IMITATION' VASE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

of hu form, the rounded sides decorated with two bands of kuilong, surmounted by a waisted neck similarly decorated, the splayed foot with a narrow band of C-scrolls, all reserved on a leiwen ground, the shoulder encircled by a row of ruyi heads, interrupted by a pair of mask handles suspending fixed rings, covered overall with a mottled dark olive-green glaze speckled with gilt to imitate the metallic surface of bronze, the reserved ground of the carved bands glazed in matte brown and splashed with turquoise enamel simulating bronze encrustation

Collection of Fred and Marguerite Shumaker, Larchmont, New York, acquired in the early 1930s, and thence by descent.

There is a crack running directly across the center of the base, extending up into both sides of the lower body. On one side the crack extends up mid-way into the wide band of molded decoration, and on the other to just below that band. These cracks connect with a crack running horizontally approximately half way around the lower body, just above the band of molded decoration around the foot. The crack in the base has three 8 cm cracks extending from it which do not reach the foot. There is some old limescale adhering to the inside of the neck and inside the body.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Compare a closely related vase with an extra band encircling the rim, offered at Christie's Hong Kong, 8th October 1996, lot 630. See also a Qianlong period gu vase of this type, sold at Christie's New York, 15th September 2011, lot 1602, and a Qianlong mark and period vase with multiple panels reserved around the body sold in our Paris rooms, 15th December 2011, lot 92. A further related pair of Qianlong mark and period vases covered in dark brown glaze with turquoise spots imitating bronze oxidation, was sold at Christie's Paris, 19th December 2012, lot 104.

For other examples of vessels belonging to this group in museum collections, see a large vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, with a narrow band of robin's-egg glaze reserved on an overall tea-dust surface, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, 1989, pl. 93, together with a gu vase and a bell, pls 95 and 96. A small hu-form vase decorated with a band executed in a similar color scheme with coffee-colored dragon motif over a mottled turquoise glaze, was included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat. no. 138, and sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th November 1989, lot 340. A Qianlong mark and period tripod censer with similar stylized dragons is published in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, fig. 486.