Vase hexagonal en porcelaine céladon craquelé de type ge. Chine, dynastie Qing, marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Photo Sotheby's

de forme balustre hexagonale à pans coupés, le col et le pied légèrement évasés, recouvert d'une riche glaçure céladon parcourue d'un fin réseau de craquelures noir et brun, marque en cachet à six caractères en bleu sous couverte à la base ; éclats restaurés au col  50,5 cm , 19 7/8 in Estimate 150,000-200,000 EUR

A Ge-type porcelaine hexagonal vase, China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795)

NOTE: This vase is notable for its refined hexagonal form, the elegance of which is heightened through its Guan-type glaze that references the celebrated official 'Guan' wares of the Song dynasty (960-1279). No other Qianlong vase of this form and glaze appears to have been published; for the Yongzheng mark and period prototype see one included in the exhibition A Collection of Porcelain, Zhejiang Museum, Zhejiang, 2006, pp 120-121; and another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 1996, lot 735.

Vases of this form but covered in various glazes, include a Qianlong mark and period Ru-type example, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th October 2003, lot 2152; and another covered in a tea-dust glaze, with a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, sold in our New York rooms, 19th September 2002, lot 143.

A blue and white decorated vase of this form and with a Qianlong mark and of the period, in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, is illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 212; another was included in the exhibition A Collection of Porcelain, op. cit., pp 126-127; a pair, from the collection of General Field Marshall Alfred, Count von Waldersee, was sold in our London rooms, 12th July 2006, lot 116; and a Yongzheng mark and period vase, from the Grandidier collection and now in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 7, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 164.

Sotheby's. Arts D'Asie. Paris |15Dec2011 www.sothebys.com