Lot 3086. A fine copper-red meiping, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 31.1 cm., 12 1/4 in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,200,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,600,000 HKD (150,627 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's

the waisted lower body rising up to high shoulders and a short waisted neck below an everted rim, covered overall with an even copper-red glaze of burnt umber tone, the glaze neatly controlled under the mouthrim and above the white recessed base, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Note: Qianlong meiping decorated in copper-red are uncommon, although a small number are recorded. See three slightly smaller meiping, one in the Roemer Museum, Hildesheim, illustrated in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan, Mainz am Rhein, Hildesheim, 1981, pl. 99, the second sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 10th April 2006, lot 1521, the third, from the Jingguantang collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 5th November 1997, lot 864; and a larger vase of this form and decoration, from the collection of Professor Ross Edman, sold in our New York rooms, 23rd September 1995, lot 426.

The use of copper-red at Jingdezhen was revived by the Kangxi Emperor after the decline in its usage after the 15th century in his quest to reproduce classic Ming sacrificial red (jihong) porcelains. The high level of technical knowledge of the potters at Jingdezhen is evident in their ability to control the temperamental copper-red pigment to produce finely painted and fired wares. Although copper-red pieces can be readily found from the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods, by the Qianlong’s reign they became fewer in number.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 April 2014