A fine and rare blue and white mallet-form vase, yaoling zun, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722) . Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2014.

The elegantly potted vase is of high-shouldered form with a single raised rib at the base of the slender, slightly waisted neck, the sides decorated in strong even underglaze blue with four intricately 'pencilled' medallions positioned above a band of pointed lappets rising from a herringbone border at the foot.; 9 3/8 in. (24 cm.) high. Estimate HK$3,000,000 - HK$5,000,000 ($388,718 - $647,864) - Price Realized HK$8,200,000 ($1,062,249)

This elegant form is known as yaoling zun which literally translates as a 'vase in the shape of a handbell'. Produced only in the Kangxi period, these vases with tall attenuated necks were decorated entirely in underglaze blue, as on the present lot, or in a subtle combination of underglaze-blue and copper-red. An identical example of slightly smaller size is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 11; another is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain, The S. C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, pl. 49, where it is noted, p. 29, that this vase is one of the new Qing designs found on imperial Kangxi wares, inspired by the decoration of ancient bronzes. However, it departs from the traditions of Ming blue and white, as here, the use of white space is more dramatic than the less austere designs of the Ming.

Other similar blue and white vases include one formerly in the J. P. Argenti and Van Slyke collections, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2001, lot 536; another illustrated by S. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1975, fig. 213, together with the same vase decorated in underglaze-red, fig. 212; and another by H. Garner, Oriental Blue and White, pl. 74 (left). A related copper-red vase of this form from the J.M. Hu Family Collection was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2011, lot 2936

Christie's. THROUGH CONNOISSEURS' EYES - WORKS OF ART FOR THE EMPEROR, 28 May 2014, Hong Kong - http://www.christies.com/