Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 9 October 2023
A rare pistachio-green enamelled vase, Mark and period of Yongzheng
Lot 3633. A rare pistachio-green enamelled vase, Mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 38 cm. Lot Sold 2,540,000 HKD (Estimate 2,200,000 - 3,200,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023
Provenance: Christie's London, 5th November 2013, lot 480.
Note: It is extremely rare to find Yongzheng vases of this shape and glaze. Compare two monochrome-glazed examples of similar form, both dated to the Yongzheng period, one covered in a celadon glaze, sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2007, lot 109; the other one glazed in blue, sold in these rooms, 4th October 2011, lot 1931. See another pair of famille-rose examples painted with chrysanthemums and butterflies, sold in our London rooms, 1st April 1974, lot 353, and again in these rooms, 29th November 1977, lot 158;
In form, the present vase is reminiscent of Yongzheng vases carved in relief with a tall band of petal lappets at the base, seen in an outline drawing published in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 234, pl. 400, fig. 12; and a blue and white example, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 175, pl. 4.