A SUPERB PEACHBLOOM-GLAZED 'BEEHIVE' WATERPOT KANGXI MARK AND PERIOD |

finely potted of classic domed 'taibai zun' form, the slightly tapering sides rising to a rounded shoulder and short waisted neck below a lipped mouth rim, the exterior evenly applied overall save for the rim and base with a vibrant crimson-red glaze suffused with green sprinkles imitating the skin of a ripening peach, the body further faintly incised with three stylized archaistic dragon roundels, the recessed white base with a six-character mark in three columns in underglaze blue 

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). 

The rim has a small bruise with an associated horizontal 0.5-cm hairline crack, and glaze speckling to the interior of the mouth.
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.

Striking for its vibrant crimson-red glaze, this waterpot is a rare example that has been successfully fired to an extraordinary quality. Copper pigment is notoriously difficult to control due to its temperamental nature, and the number of examples featuring different tones of red glaze impressively highlights the difficulties experienced by the potters working at the imperial kilns during the Kangxi period (r. 1662-1722). This attractive glaze is found only on a select group of vessels for the scholar’s table in eight different shapes, one of the most iconic groups of porcelain created under the Kangxi emperor. Compare two closely related examples sold in our Hong Kong rooms, one from the collections of Dudley L. Pickman and General Charles G. Loring, 5th April 2017, lot 1113, the second, 4th April 2012, lot 3101; and another from the Robert Chang Collection, included in An Exhibition Important Chinese Ceramics from the Robert Chang Collection, Christie’s London, 1993, cat. no. 36.

Further waterpots of this type include one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 142, pl. 125; one in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 206; another from the Sir Percival David Collection, now in the British Museum, London, published in Margaret Medley, Ming and Qing Monochrome Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1989, pl. 580; and a fourth example, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 8th October 1990, lot 467, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 3612.

These waterpots are known as taibai zun after the Tang dynasty poet Li Taibai, who is often depicted leaning against a large wine jar of similar form, as seen in a porcelain sculpture which shows the poet seated with closed eyes and a cup in hand, published in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, op. cit., p. 106, pl. 89. They are also referred to as jizhao zun, because their shape resembles that of a chicken coop.