A Fine and Large Blue and White Vase, Hu. Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong - Photo Sotheby's

of bronze hu shape, with a pear-shaped body elegantly rising from a splayed foot to a waisted neck and flared rim, set with two stylised turtledove-shaped handles surmounted by a spiralled knop and suspending mock rings, brilliantly decorated in shaded tones of cobalt with a broad composite scroll of lotus, peonies and hibiscus borne on a continuous stem with attendant buds and serrate leaves, between a band of petal lappets skirting the foot and pendent ruyi encircling the shoulder, the neck collared with stiff leaves enclosing lotus sprays between a raised fillet joining the handles and scrolling lingzhi at the rim, the foot decorated by a 'classic' scroll, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue; 46.5 cm., 18 3/8 in. Estimation: 12,000,000 - 15,000,000 HKD

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16th May 1977, lot 89.

LITTERATURE: S.T. Yeo and Jean Martin, Chinese Blue and White Ceramics, Singapore, 1978, col. fig. 20.

NOTE DE CATALOGUE: The present vase is impressive for its large size, flawless potting and finely executed decoration. It is closely related to two other vases of similar dimensions, shape and painted motif, although the band of upright leaves on the neck as seen on this piece is replaced by a band of stylised lotus scroll design; one from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red, vol. 3, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 136, and possibly its pair, a vase in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 234. See also a Qianlong mark and period Ru-type vase of very similar shape and size to the present piece, in the Nanjing Museum, included ibid., pl. 329. Compare additional Qianlong vase of this type covered in flambé glaze, from the collection of F.C. Harrison and formerly on loan at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in December 1903, sold in these rooms, 29th November 1976, lot 568, and later included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 162. 

While the form of this vase is loosely based on archaic bronze hu vessels of the Zhou period, the decoration is delicately painted in the brilliant tone of cobalt blue with the simulated ‘heaped and piled’ effect associated with early Ming period porcelain wares. The use of stylised turtledoves for the handles is worth noting as doves are rarely employed in Chinese design despite being an auspicious symbol of peace and harmony. More common are vessels of this type bearing handles in the form of dragon heads, as seen on a vase in the Shanghai Museum, included in the exhibition Den Bla Draken, Rohsska Museet, Goteborg, 1995, cat. no. 60; two in the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Tianjin, published in Tianjin Shi Yishu Bowuguan cang ci, Tianjin, 1993, pl. 165; and a vase sold in these rooms, 8th October 2006, lot 1058. 

The present vase takes its inspiration from slightly earlier, Yongzheng period, hu-shaped vases of related form and floral-scroll decoration. For example, see a Yongzheng mark and period vase, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red, vol. 3, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 95. Another smaller Yongzheng vase of this type was sold in these rooms, 14th November 1989, lot 75, and again, 29th October 1991, lot 133. Compare also a Yongzheng guan-type vase of this shape included in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection,Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 78.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. Hong Kong | 09 oct. 2012 www.sothebys.com