Lot 93. A pair of turquoise-glazed archaistic vases (gu), Qing dynasty, Kangxi period. Height 8 1/8  in., 20.7 cm. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 USD. Unsold. Photo: Sotheby's.

each modeled after the archaistic bronze vessel, the waisted cylindrical body rising from a splayed foot to a trumpet neck, the bulging central section crisply molded and carved with large peony blooms divided by crenulated flanges, the neck and foot incised with bands of stiff overlapping plantain leaves, applied overall with a bright turquoise glaze draining to a paler color on the ridges and pooling darker in the recesses (2). 

Note: During the Qing dynasty, turquoise-glazed wares were found more frequently on non-imperial wares, as they were made either for the domestic market or for export to Europe. They were particularly popular in France in the 18th and 19th centuries, where they were often mounted in ormolu. See a group of turquoise-glazed vessels from the Kangxi period in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pls 146-148. 

Turquoise-glazed gu-form vases with this decoration are rare. An identical vase from the Percival David Collection at the British Museum, is illustrated in Margaret Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ch'ing Monochrome in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1973, pl. A566. See another closely related vase sold Christie's London, 9th May 1988, lot 171.  

Sotheby's. Monochrome, New York, 15 sept. 2015