Lot 2811. A fine peachbloom-glazed beehive waterpot, taibai zun, Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1662-1722); 12.5 cm diam., box. Price realised HKD 1,890,000 (Estimate HKD 1,500,000 – HKD 1,800,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023 

Provenance: Sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 8 October 1990, lot 467
Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 3612.

Note: Water pots of this form are known as Taibai zun, after the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai who was also named Li Taibai (701-762). In later imageries Li Bai, a renowned drinker of wine, is often depicted leaning against a large wine jar of this shape. Peachbloom-glazed vessels were highly treasured by the Kangxi Emperor, and were primarily fired as small-sized scholar's objects for the Emperor's table. See a set of eight of peachbloom-glazed vessels of varying forms in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by S.G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, p. 237, pl. 236.

Similar peachbloom-glazed waterpots are found in various museums and collections worldwide, including one in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, see Gugong bowuyuan cang qingdai yuyao ciqi, volume 1, part 1, Beijing, 2015, no.106; another in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, illustrated in Earth, Fire and Water: Chinese Ceramic Technology, London, 1996, no. 24, p. 34.

Lot 2820. A Langyao vase, guanyinzun, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 41.6 cm high., box. Price realised HKD 3,024,000 (Estimate HKD 1,500,000 – HKD 2,500,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Provenance: Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978), United States
Sold at Christie’s New York, 21 September 1995, lot 228
S Marchant & Son, London.

Exhibited: S Marchant & Son, Imperial Porcelain of Kangxi, Yongzheng & Qianlong, 9 June – 25 June 1996, Catalogue, no. 3.

Note: The term Langyao (Lang ware), derives its name from Lang Tingji, director of the official kilns at Jingdezhen between 1705-1712, who is credited with the revival of monochrome glazes and particularly copper-red glazes. The copper-red colour is often considered the most challenging to regulate during the firing process as exactly the right conditions are required within the kiln to achieve the rich tones demonstrated by the present lot. Although copper-red was used successfully in the Ming dynasty, particularly in the Xuande period, the copper-red monochrome glazes seen in the Qing dynasty became even more refined and were of an exceptionally even and vibrant tone. The fine glaze and elegant form of the present vase exemplifies the skill of the Chinese potters under Lang Tingji.

The shape of the current vase, which is sometimes referred to as a ‘Guanyin vase’, is characteristic of Lang wares. Compare three Langyao vases of similar shape, one in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, which is fitted with a metal insert, see collection number: guci-013278; ; another in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 18, no. 15; and one from the J.J. Lally & Co., sold at Christie’s New York, 23 March 2023, lot 900.

Lot 2823. A fine pair of aubergine-glazed bowls, Kangxi six-character marks in underglaze blue within double circles and of the period (1662-1722); 12.2 cm diam., boxes. Price realised HKD 819,000 (Estimate HKD 700,000 – HKD 900,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Provenance: Collection of the Hon. Mountstuart W. Elphinstone
Collection of E.G. Kostolany
Collection of H.M. Knight
Sold at Sotheby’s London, 12 May 1970, lot 89
E.T. Hall Collection, nos. 34 and 35 (according to labels)
Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 May 2002, lot 522.

Exhibited: International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-1936, Catalogue, nos. 2626 and 2632 (fig. 1)
Oosterse Schatten. 4000 Jaar Aziatische Kunst, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1954, Catalogue, no. 306.

Note: A similar pair of Kangxi aubergine-glazed bowls was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3703; and a single example is illustrated in The Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1992, p. 355, no. 222.

Lot 2829. A fine and very rare Guan-type hexagonal vase, hu, Yongzheng six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1735); 12 cm high, Japanese wood box. Price realised HKD 2,520,000 (Estimate HKD 500,000 – HKD 800,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Provenance: A Japanese private collection
Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 3058.

Exhibited: Yamanaka Shokai, Asian Arts and Antiques Exhibition, Tokyo, 1939, Catalogue, no. 164.

Note: Although vases of this form decorated in blue and white, as well as crackle glazes, are well known in the Qianlong period, there are relatively few extant examples from the Yongzheng reign. Two other hu-shaped vases of this type were sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 April 2004, lot 1052; and 28 November 2005, lot 1316. Compare the form with a smaller Yongzheng-marked blue and white example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book I, Hong Kong, 1968, pp. 77-88, pls. 6, 6a & 6b.

Lot 2837. A moulded celadon-glazed 'lotus scroll' bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735); 47 cm high, Japanese wood box. Price realised HKD 604,800 (Estimate HKD 2,000,000 – HKD 3,000,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Lot 2825. A fine pair of lemon-yellow enamelled dishes, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 8.8 cm diam., box. Price realised HKD 819,000 (Estimate HKD 700,000 – HKD 900,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Provenance: Offered at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 May 2002, lot 502.

Note: This crisp and bright type of yellow enamel colour, achieved by combining antimoniate of iron with tin oxide, first appeared on Chinese porcelain during the late Kangxi period, but reached perfection during the Yongzheng reign. See a similar pair from the Sir Percival David Collection now in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ch'ing Monochrome in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 1989, pls B543-4; another pair from the collections of J.M. Hu and Marchant, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 April 2022, lot 3509; and a single dish from the Paul and Helen Bernat Collection, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 15 November 1988, lot 60.

Lot 2831. A Ru-type glazed hu-form vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 4.1 cm high, box. Price realised HKD 252,000 (Estimate HKD 250,000 – HKD 350,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Lot 2833. A very rare copper-red glazed monk's cap ewer, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 19.2 cm high, box. Price realised HKD 3,780,000 (Estimate HKD 3,000,000 – HKD 5,000,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Provenance: Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 20 March 1990, lot 619
The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 April 2002, lot 538
An Asian private collection
Sold at Christie's Hong Kong, Buddhist Art Under the Empire, 9 July 2020, lot 2705.

Literature: The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 128
Christie’s 20 Years in Hong Kong: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Highlights, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 155.

Note: Monk's-cap ewers were used in ritual ceremonies of the Lamaist sect of Buddhism, and were mostly made in metal. The form was first copied in porcelain during the Yuan dynasty and was particularly popular during the Yongle and Xuande reigns. For a discussion on Yongle ewers of this form, see Liu Xinyuan, Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, Catalogue, pp. 98 and 99. Early 15th-century examples are predominantly found with tianbai glaze, only two examples in red glaze appear to be known, both from the Qing court collection, one with a Qianlong imperial poem carved on the base is now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, see Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 112-113, no. 29, which also has a wood stand with an inscription indicating that it was in the residence of the Yongzheng Emperor when he was a prince; the second is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in the revised Sekai Toji Zenshu, Ming, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, no. 32. As suggested by the inscription on the stand, the first ewer is probably the one depicted in one of the Twelve Beauties portraits painted for Prince Yong between 1709 and 1723.

The 15th-century examples provided the model for Qing potters. For Kangxi red-glazed ewers with Xuande apocryphal marks, see an example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 25, no. 22; and another sold at Christie’s Paris, 7 December 2007, lot 132. Compare also with a smaller Kangxi ewer without a mark (14 cm.), sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2013, lot 1204. The Kangxi ewers have a more globular body and a straighter neck, unlike the Qianlong examples which adhere more closely to the 15th-century prototypes.

Very few other Qianlong-marked red-glazed ewers are known. One nearly identical to the current ewer with a matched cover was included in the Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition catalogue Selected Treasures of Chinese Art, no. 75, subsequently sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 April 1998, lot 721; and a smaller one (11.8 cm. high) with cover and gilt highlights in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the exhibition catalogue Emperor Ch’ien-lung’s Grand Cultural Enterprise, Taipei, 2002, p. 197, no. V-33. Compare also with Qianlong-marked monk’s cap ewers in different glaze colours, two in sacrificial blue glaze, one formerly preserved in the Warehouse of Antiquities at the Jingyang Palace in the Forbidden City, now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, see Monarchy and Its Buddhist Way: Tibetan-Buddhist Ritual Implements in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1999, p. 213, no. 115; one of larger size （19.3 cm）in the Idemitsu Museum, see Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, no. 954; and a miniature ewer with four-character mark in pale celadon glaze in the Tianminlou Collection, see The S. C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Part I, no. 158.

Lot 2839. A Guan-type glazed vase with three rings, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 28.8 cm high, wood stand, Japanese wood box. Price realised HKD 1,386,000 (Estimate HKD 800,000 – HKD 1,200,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Provenance: A Japanese private collection.

Note: Compare with a similar Qianlong vase also covered with a Guan-type glaze in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, included in the exhibition catalogue of The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong, 1984, no. 80, and another from the T.Y. Chao Collection, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19 May 1987, lot 288.

Two other Qianlong vases of this rare form, but covered with a teadust glaze, are illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, no. 963, and Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 11, no. 99, in the Hakutsuru Art Museum, Hyogo.

Lot 2845. A large sacrifical-blue-glazed bottle vase, tianqiuping, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 52.6 cm high. Price realised HKD 1,512,000 (Estimate HKD 1,200,000 – HKD 1,800,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 2010.

Note: Compare to a similar example with this cobalt blue glaze included in the exhibition, The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1984, no. 85. Another example with a less globular body is in the Baur Collection, Geneva, illustrated by J. Ayers and M. Sato in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Volume 15, Qing Dynasty, Tokyo, 1983, p. 199, no. 272. A third example is from the Nanjing Museum Collection, included in the exhibition, Qing Imperial Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1995, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 66.

The rich cobalt blue seen on the current vase is sometimes referred to as 'sacrificial blue'. This name derives from the use of vessels bearing this coloured glaze during sacrifices at the Imperial Altar of Heaven in the Ming dynasty. However it has been noted that during the Qing dynasty these massive vases were made as part of decorative furnishings for the Palace.

Lot 2844. A massive carved white-glazed 'dragons' fish jar, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 73 cm wide. Price realised HKD 1,512,000 (Estimate HKD 500,000 – HKD 800,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Note: It is possible that the present fish jar is one of the pair illustrated by Yamanaka & Company in Collection of Chinese and Other Far Eastern Art, New York, 1943, no. 1247. The form of the present fish jar continued on to Dayazhai wares commissioned by the Cixi Empress Dowager during the late 19th century.