Lot 3057. A rare copper-red pomegranate-shaped vase, Mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 18 cm., 7 in. Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,500,000 HKD. Lot sold 3,640,000 HKD.. Photo: Sotheby's.

well potted with an almost spherical body resting on a rimless foot and countersunk base, sweeping up to a short waisted neck and a crown of five pointed sepals forming a calyx mouth, covered overall with a copper-red glaze of deep crimson tone lightly textured with an 'orange peel' effect on the surface, save for the interior and the base left white, the rounded footring left unglazed and fired to pale orange along the edges, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within double circles.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 28th November 1978, lot 164.

Note: A symbol of fertility and synonymous with the word ‘seed’ or ‘offspring’, the pomegranate (zi) was a popular motif from the Ming dynasty; however the use of its shape to form a vase was a Yongzheng innovation.