Lot 3002. A rare lavender-glazed hexagonal flowerpot and stand, Incised seal mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 20.8 cm., 8 1/8 in. Estimate 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 HKD. Lot sold 4,600,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's
of hexagonal form with gently flared walls, the slightly concave sides with indented corners rising at an angle from a recessed foot of conforming section, all supported on a pierced trompe-l'oeil integralbase with a stepped curved apron and six ruyi feet joined by a hexagonal stretcher, the latter attached to the pot and glazed in contrasting tone resembling a separate carved stand, the pot applied overall with a warm lavender glaze thinning to white along the angles and rim, the stand covered in a powder-blue glaze picked out with darker brown edges, the base left white under a transparent glaze and incised with a six-character seal mark
Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27th/28th April 1993, lot 70.
Note: This piece is notable for its elegant hexagonal form and the porcelain stand on which the flowerpot rests. The stand is glazed in a rich colour several tones darker to perfectly accentuate the soft hues of the pot, and is an elegant rendition of a stretcher that would more commonly have been crafted from wood. The shape and colour of this flowerpot is inspired by Jun prototypes of the Song dynasty; for example compare a smaller vessel inscribed with the Chinese character ‘eight’ on the base, in the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 22; one sold in our London rooms, 9th November 2011, lot 365; and another included in the Japan Society Exhibition of Japanese, Corean, Chinese Pottery, Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1914, cat. no. 295, sold at Christie’s New York, 23rd June 1982, lot 51.
Yongzheng period jardinières can be found in various shapes and glazes; see a deep rounded example with an everted rim covered in a Jun-type glaze and bearing an incised four-character mark on the base, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibitionMonochrome Ceramics of Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1977, cat. no. 27; a lazurite-blue glaze jardinière with a six-character reign mark, illustrated in the Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 197; and a third covered in a clair-de-lune glaze, sold in our London rooms, 7th November 2012, lot 271. A robin’s-egg glazed rectangular jardinière bearing a four-character Yongzheng reign mark was sold in these rooms, 11thApril 2008, lot 2816; and a shallow circular sky-blue glazed example raised on a dark aubergine stand is published in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 97.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 Oct 2013
