Lot 3023. A flambé-glazed meiping vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 35 cm., 13 3/4 in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot Sold 475,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's

the curved sides with a rounded shoulder, surmounted by a short waisted neck with a slightly everted lip, the exterior covered with a rich glaze of streaked crushed-raspberry and lavender tones extending to the interior of the mouth, draining to greyish beige at the rim, all suffused with a matrix of crackles, the base left unglazed.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29th October 1991, lot 86.

Note: A closely related vase is illustrated in Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr & Mrs J.M. Hu, Shanghai, 1989, pl. 71; a slightly smaller example was sold in our London rooms, 6th April 1976, lot 198; and a third vase was sold at Christie's New York, 16th September 1999, lot 372. Compare also a flambé-glazed meiping of this form and size, but of a lighter purple hue and with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing. The Huaihaitang Collection, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. 69.

Vessels covered in the striking flambé glaze reflect the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperor's fondness for Song dynasty 'Jun' wares. It was Yongzheng who first commissioned the development of new glazes in imitation of 'Jun' vessels and a total of nine different types of revival 'Jun' glazes were created, which can be found recorded in the 1732 edition of the Jiangxi tongzhi (General Description of the Jiangxi Province). For the list and description of the nine glazes see S.W. Bushell, Oriental Ceramic Art, London, 1981, pp 194-96. The flambé glaze was perfected under Qianlong's reign when a large number of wares covered in this highly attractive glaze were produced. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 april 2011