Lot 920. Property from the Dawentang Collection. A fine and rare Ru-type glazed vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 21.2 cm high. Price realised HKD 3,302,000 (Estimate HKD 3,000,000 – HKD 5,000,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2010, lot 1922

Literature: Chinese Ceramics from the Dawentang Collection, Vol. II, Hong Kong, 2019, pp.524-527, no. 103

Exhibited: The Capital Museum, Treasures of Hong Kong: The 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover, Beijing, 2017, cat. no. 30

Hong Kong Museum of Art, Honouring Tradition and Heritage: Min Chiu Society at Sixty, Hong Kong, 18 December 2020 – 28 April 2021, cat. no. 130.

Note: The beauty of Song dynasty glazes was greatly admired by the emperors of the Qing dynasty. The crackled celadon glaze seen on the present vase is an interpretation of the Ru ware, one of the most sought-after wares of the Song dynasty. According to Qing court archives, on the 1st day of the 9th month of Qianlong 16th year (1751), “seven Ru octagonal vases were presented to the Emperor, who then ordered nanmu stands to match them.”.

One example of the Southern Song dynasty vase of very similar form as the current lot, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, collection number: guci 017701.

Compare to a Qianlong vase of very similar form and glaze from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalog of the Special Exhibition of K’ang-Hsi, Yung-Cheng and Ch’ien-Lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 102; one from the Avery Brundage Collection, now in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, collection number: B60P2321; a pair from J. M. Hu Collection, now in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes – the Zande Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, no.29.

Christie's. Pearls of The Orient - Treasures from Hong Kong Private Collectors, Hong Kong, 40 April 2026