Lot 937. From The Au Bak Ling Collection. A fine guan-type glazed hu-form vase, Yongzheng six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1735); 22.8 cm high. Price realised HKD 1,397,000 (Estimate HKD 1,500,000 – HKD 2,500,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 12 May 1976, lot 238
 

Exhibited: Hong Kong Museum of Art, Monochrome Ceramics of the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1977, cat. no. 114

Note: The beauty of Song dynasty glazes was greatly admired by the emperors of the Qing dynasty, and the potters at the imperial Jingdezhen kilns were charged with the task of reproducing these glazes on porcelain. The crackled celadon glaze seen on the present lot is an interpretation of guan ware, one of the most sought-after and treasured wares of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) , while its shape is derived from bronze vessels of the Zhou (C.1100-256BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties.

One example of the Southern Song dynasty guan vase prototype of similar form as the current lot, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Sung Dynasty Kuan Ware, Taipei, 1989, no.8. Compare to a Yongzheng-marked guan-type glazed vase of similar pear-shaped body but with animal-head handles, sold at Christie’s New York, Sacred and Imperial: The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection Part II, 24 September 2020, lot 852.

Lot 936. From The Au Bak Ling Collection. A rare small moon-white glazed anhua decorated ‘lotus’ monk’s cap ewer and cover, Yongzheng period (1723-1735); 11.5 cm high. Price realised HKD 1,397,000 (Estimate HKD 500,000 – HKD 1,000,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

The base is incised with an apocryphal Chenghua four-character mark.
 

Provenance: Edward T. Chow (1910-1980)
The Edward T. Chow Collection, Part Three, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 19 May 1981, lot 488

Note: Qing dynasty ceramic monk’s cap ewers are based on Yuan and early Ming dynasty prototypes, which were in turn influenced by metal examples used in ritual ceremonies of the Lamaist sect of Buddhism. The early Ming ceramic ewers of this form are decorated in sacrificial red, sacrificial blue, and white glazes, some of which are further detailed with anhua decoration.

The small size of this monk's cap ewer makes it extremely rare. Another copper red monk's cap ewer of similar size (11.7 cm high) with a Qianlong mark and of the period in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Emperor Ch’ien-lung’s Grand Cultural Enterprise, Taipei, 2000, p.197, no. V-33.

Lot 933. From The Au Bak Ling Collection. A fine and rare flambé-glazed ribbed jardinière, Yongzheng incised four-character seal mark and of the period (1723-1735); 13.5 cm diam. Price realised HKD 1,270,000 (Estimate HKD 500,000 – HKD 800,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 12 May 1976, lot 199
 

Exhibited: Hong Kong Museum of Art, Monochrome Ceramics of the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1977, cat. no. 27
 

Note: The present jardinière is exquisite for its elegant small form and beautiful flambé glaze. Jardinières of this shape bearing four-character Yongzheng reign mark are extremely rare.

According to palace archival records, on the 13th day of the 9th month of Yongzheng tenth year (1732), the Emperor ordered Nian Xiyao to produce jardinières and trays in sacrificial red, sacrificial blue, Jun, and Ru glazes. He also ordered that wooden samples be presented first for the Emperor's approval. The present lot is possibly one of the jardinières in Jun glazes mentioned in this record.

A flambé-glazed flower pot with Yongzheng mark and of related form, but without horizontal ribs, is in the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by Rose Kerr, in Chinese Ceramics: Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, London, 1986, no. 61. Compare also a sacrificial blue glazed jardinière of similar form from the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Gu taoci ziliao xuancui, vol. 2, Beijing, 2005, no.170.

Lot 932. From The Au Bak Ling Collection. A celadon-glazed moulded ‘floral scroll’ bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735); 12.7 cm diam. Price realised HKD 635,000 (Estimate HKD 700,000-

 - HKD 1,200,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 November 1976, lot 555
 

Note: Compare to two closely related examples: one from the British Museum collection, donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, accession number: Franks.32.+; the other illustrated by Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, no. 856.