Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, Hong Kong, 04 Apr 2012
A fine blue and white bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)
Lot 3243. A fine blue and white bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 37.5 cm., 14 3/4 in. Estimate 1,200,000 — 1,800,000HKD (117,429 — 176,144 EUR). Lot Sold 2,300,000 HKD (225,073 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.
the well potted globular body raised on a slightly flared foot, decorated with a broad composite floral scroll above an upright lappet border and a 'classic scroll' around the foot, the shoulders adorned with narrow bands of floral motifs and pendent ruyi heads, below upright plantain leaves encircling the tall waisted neck, and turbulent waves and further ruyi heads collaring the mouth, the cobalt of a vivid blue tone with simulated 'heaping and piling' effect, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue, wood stand.
Note: A closely related example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 233; one in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is published in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 15, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 2; two were sold in our London rooms, one from the Toguri collection, 9th June 2004, lot 5, the other, 10th November 2010, lot 102A; and four vases are illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, vol. III, London, 1986, pl. 2564, one with an elaborate nineteenth century Ottoman gilt-metal cover.