Lot 130. Property from the Barbara and Lester Levy Collection. An exceptionally rare and fine Ru-type lotus-bud-form bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795). Height 22 cm, Lot sold 292,100 USD (Estimate 200,000 - 300,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2024

the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue 

Provenance: Acquired in Iran prior to 1970, and thence by descent.

Note: Veiled with a luminous glaze, the present vase is extremely rare and represents the height of innovation and technical perfection achieved at the Jingdezhen kilns in Jiangxi province during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. Remarkable for its perfection in form, its generous, rounded sides rise from a short foot to a long, slender neck, terminating in a lotus-pod-form mouth with seven equally spaced apertures to the top. The ingenuous incorporation of the lotus-pod-form with the soft, attractive Ru-imitation glaze furthermore speaks to the kilns' creative ability to produce wares that highly catered to the Emperor's own aesthetic taste and affinities.

Rising immaculately undefiled from the muddy waters, the lotus was frequently associated with purity, integrity and most importantly, the Confucian notion of virtue. The aquatic flower also became associated with Buddhism, symbolizing the power of the soul to emerge from the physical world, samsara, and to achieve enlightenment. Obviously aware of these traditional notions, the Qianlong Emperor, similar to his predecessors, continued to sponsor artworks featuring such motifs. Known to be a prolific poet, the Qianlong Emperor especially enjoyed his stays at the imperial gardens of Chengde, and composed countless poems praising the lotus ponds there. In a painting scroll, attributed to Giuseppe Castiglione, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. 故00006476), Qianlong is seen dressed in a traditional Han-style robe, playing the qin in a pavilion over the water looking out to the open lotus pond below. To his side, blooming stems of lotus flowers and lotus leaves are neatly arranged in a vase, further pointing to the Emperor's special fondness of the flower. Vases, like the present, were then likely ordered by the Emperor or the court to imitate the shape of a lotus pod for the arrangement of flowers to be personally enjoyed by the Qianlong Emperor himself.

To further enhance the attractiveness of the vase, the craftsmen at the Jingdezhen kilns covered the vessel in a soft blue-green glaze, save for the brown-dressed foot rim, inspired by the famed Ru kiln of the Song dynasty. By the Qing dynasty, Ru wares were already so extremely rare that the Yongzheng Emperor sent originals of various surviving examples from the palace in Beijing to the Jingdezhen kilns to have them carefully studied and copied. These original Song Ru wares inspired a whole range of Ru-type vessels with luminous bluish-green glaze. Building on the high caliber of skill achieved under the direction of the Yongzheng Emperor, the Qianlong Emperor also continued to commission Ru-imitation wares during his reign. He furthermore contributed to the fame of the ware by composing poems praising Ru wares and having them engraved on pieces from the Imperial storerooms.

The Emperor was also especially fond of artistic illusions. From the floor-to-ceiling trompe l'oeil paintings (tonqinghua), in the Studio of Diligent Service (Juanqinzhai), that connected the interior with the outside, to the countless cross-medium imperial porcelain imitations of bronze, glass and much more, he was constantly captivated by the novel. Thus, he would have delighted in the present vase, which is simultaneously inspired by nature but also a vessel for it, bringing a piece of the outside to the interior palace rooms. Combined with its attractive Ru-type glaze and highly creative and elegant form, it would have surely been treasured by the Qianlong Emperor dearly.

Only very few examples of this type are known, and they are all housed in the National Palace Museum, Taipei: see two vases, glazed similarly in a Ru-type glaze with a brown dressed foot, of slightly larger size (23.2 cm and 23.3 cm) (accession nos 中瓷004963N000000000 and 中瓷004964N000000000) (Fig. 1); and two others, covered in a Guan-type glaze, also with a brown-dressed foot, of similar size (22.1 cm and 22.4 cm) (accession nos 中瓷001191N000000000 and 中瓷001190N000000000). Exceedingly rare, the present lot appears to be one of the only vases of its type and quality in private hands.

Fig. 1 A lotus-bud-form bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong © National Palace Museum, Taipei.