Lot 125. Property of The Newark Museum of Art, Sold to Support Museum Collections. A rare celadon-glazed hu-form vase, Seal mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735). Height 42.3 cm. Estimate 600,000 - 800,000 USD. Lot sold 1,079,500 USD. © Sotheby's 2025

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

Provenance: Collection of Herman A. E. (d. 1951) and Paul C. (d. 1951) Jaehne.

Gifted to The Newark Museum, Newark, in 1941 (accession

no. 41.2027B).

Note: The present vase is an extraordinary treasure. Grandly potted in a subtle curvaceous form and glowing with a soft ineffable palette of sea-green celadon, the vase represents the very zenith of monochrome porcelain production under the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735). Combining the cutting-edge innovations in glaze chemistry of the eighteenth century with an undying respect and reverence for the antique, this remarkable piece epitomizes the grand yet thoughtful aesthetic embraced by the Yongzheng Emperor.

The slender yet bulbous form of the present vase is known by connoisseurs as the ganlanping, or ‘olive-shaped vase,’ and was admired throughout the High Qing period. This grand design, reminiscent of the natural beauty of a simple olive stone, was adopted and adapted by the imperial potters in each successive reign and is attested with and without handles, decorated with a range of glazes and with nuanced variations in the overall shape. Compare two light blue ganlanping of the Kangxi era, for example, with incised designs and more slender cylindrical necks, preserved in the Fondation Baur, Geneva, illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection. Chinese Ceramics, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pls A326 and A328, the latter with a slightly everted mouth rim. Indeed, even within the Yongzheng reign, a number of differing ganlanping varieties were produced, including a more common type with no handles and a flared neck. Compare a copper red Yongzheng example from the Qing Court Collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, pt. 2, pl. 9.

However, more than simply beautiful, the present vase also possesses an air of gravitas and archaic power quite unlike its more common counterparts. Standing proudly on a grand foot with two rectangular apertures and flanked on each shoulder by short tubular handles, the present vase embodies the Yongzheng Emperor’s fascination with antiquity and his passion for archaism. From the first year of his reign, the Yongzheng Emperor commissioned items from the Palace Workshops inspired by antiquity. These tube handles and foot apertures, for example, are derived from the bronze hu vessels of China’s Bronze Age, while the luminous celadon glaze pays homage to the famous monochrome wares of the Song dynasty (960-1279) which, in turn, also turned to the archaic for inspiration. This simplicity and archaism of form, and a considered approach to decoration, were stylistic trends first implemented at the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen by famed superintendent Tang Ying (1682-1756). Under his supervision, research into celebrated Song wares, including Ru, Guan, Ge and Longquan celadon, saw the re-emergence of monochrome porcelains covered in luminous yet deceptively simple glazes which, while simulating the archaic, still possess a remarkably contemporary air.

Vases of this innovative yet classical form are exceedingly rare. Compare an almost identical Yongzheng vase of this type, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 3rd December 2015, lot 22; another vase of this type but with gilded bands to the mouth and foot, from the famed collection of J.M. Hu, offered at Christie’s New York, 23rd September 2022, lot 917; and a related vase of smaller size (31.8 cm) and ‘Guan’-imitation glaze, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2013, lot 3128. Compare also a related Yongzheng mark and period coral-ground vase of this shape, decorated with peonies in famille rose enamels, preserved in the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 2009, pl. 77.