Lot 3492. A very rare small clair-de-lune-glazed jar, Yongzheng six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1723-1735); 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price Realized HKD 625,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The jar is delicately potted with deep rounded sides rising to a lipped rim, and covered with a soft pale blue glaze on the exterior below the rim and stopping neatly above the unglazed foot. The interior and the base glazed white, box.

Note: The present jar appears to be unique. The closest example is a Yongzheng-marked clair-de-lune-glazed jar in the Qing Court collection, included in Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Government Exhibits for the International Exhibition of Chinese Art London, vol. II, Porcelain, Shanghai, 1936, p. 164, no. 217, which has the same form as the current jar, but is slightly larger in size (11 cm. high; 13 cm. mouth diam.), and is glazed on both the exterior and interior, while bearing a four-character seal mark. It is interesting to note another type of similar jars, which has a larger width-to-height ratio, and a six-character seal mark, such as an example in the National Palace Museum, museum no. zhongci000556N; and another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Qingdai guanyao ciqi, vol. 1.1, Beijing, 2005, p. 268, no. 120.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Including The Su Zhu An Collection of Inkstones), Hong Kong, 27 November 2013