Lot 259. A green ge-type bottle vase, 19th century; 20.4cm (8in) high. Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 (€2,400 - 3,700). Sold for £5,000 (€5,712). Photo Bonhams.

With bulbous body rising towards a gently sloping shoulder and tubular neck, covered overall in a rich, glassy apple-green glaze suffused with wide crackles, the interior and base with a crackled creamy-white glaze. 

The bright apple-green glaze, also known as lülangyao (green langyao) or green-Ge, was first produced by the Jingdezhen kilns under the supervision of Lang Tingji, in the Kangxi era. It is thought to be a transmutation of Langyao red to green, due to the oxidisation of copper in the last stage of the firing, yielding a light green rather than red hue (Q. Wang, p. 223, A dictionary of Chinese ceramics, Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, Shanghai, 1989, refers).

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, London, Knightsbridge, 12 May 2014