An exquisite and rare small blue and white 'boys' vase, Mark and period of Yongzheng | 清雍正 青花開光嬰戲圖小方瓶 《大清雍正年製》款

Acquired in Hong Kong prior to 1968, and thence by descent.

1968年之前購於香港，此後家族傳承

Delicately designed and painted, this superb miniature vase is an example of the unprecedented levels of refinement and sophistication characteristic of porcelain manufacture during the Yongzheng period. The auspicious 'children at play' subject, the elegant brushwork, and soft hues of cobalt blue suggest that the present lot was inspired by the porcelains produced during the Chenghua period. 

Only a small group of vases of this type are recorded, including one of slightly larger size, from the collection of Ms. Dorothy Bushell, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (accession no. FE.118-1975); and another, from the John Gardner Coolidge Collection, lent by Mrs. John Gardner Coolidge since 1946 to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (accession no. 46.802).

For examples sold at auction, see one sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st November 1999, lot 378 and 8th April 2011, lot 3116; another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th May 2007, lot 1500; one sold first at Christie's Hong Kong, 31st March 1992, lot 613, and later in these rooms, 11th-12th September 2012, lot 49; one sold in our London rooms, 20th June 2001, lot 22; one sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd November 1998, lot 392; and another, sold in these rooms, 9th December 1987, lot 269.