Lot 35. A flambé-glazed vase, fanghu, Qianlong seal mark and period; 29cm., 11 3/8 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

of archaic bronze form, the pear-shaped body of rectangular section rising from a gently spreading foot to a quatrefoil rim, set at the shoulder with a pair of square lug handles and moulded to the front and back with a raised peach-form panel, covered overall with a lustrous glaze of violet-purple tone with broad creamy lavender streaks, thinning to a buff colour at the rim and along the edges, the base incised with a six-character seal mark and further applied with a greyish glaze with russet patches.

Note: A closely related vase is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics IV. Qing Dynasty, The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 47; one is published in J.J. Marquet de Vasselot, The Louvre Museum. Chinese Ceramics. K’ang Hsi Period to our Days, Paris, 1922, pl. 35; and two examples were sold in our Hong Kong rooms, the first, 26th October 1993, lot 99, and the second, of slightly larger size, 11th April 2008, lot 2973.

Vases of this type derive from wares of the Song dynasty (960-1279) and demonstrate the craftsmanship of Qing potters in their ability to imitate shapes and glazes and developing them to suit the contemporary aesthetic. Flambé glazes derive from Jun wares, a glaze that was first revived by the Yongzheng emperor and which remained popular throughout the Qing dynasty. The shape is an interpretation of facetted and pear-shape guan vases, which in turn were inspired by the archaic bronze ritual vessel, hu.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, London, 14 May 2014