Lot 3679. A copper-red glazed vase, yuhuchunping, Mark and period of Yongzheng (1722-1735);  31.1 cm., 12 1/4  in. Estimate 900,000 — 1,200,000 HKD (103,460 — 137,947 EUR). Lot sold 1,875,000 HKD (215,542 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

elegantly potted with a pear-shaped body sweeping up to a waisted neck and a broad everted rim, supported on a short slightly splayed foot, richly applied to the exterior starting right below the rim with a mottled raspberry-red ‘peachbloom-type' glaze thinning to a light mushroom tone at the foot, the reserved base left white and inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle.

Note: Copper-red vases of this type are held in important museums and private collections worldwide, but it is extremely rare to find an example with a 'peachbloom-type' glaze. See one in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, illustrated in theIllustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1990, vol. 2, pl. 660; another sold at Christie’s London, 9th June 1997, lot 142; a slightly smaller vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain in the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 287, pl. 116; and another in the Capital Museum, Beijing, illustratedChugoku kogei bijutsu sosho: Chugoku toji hen, vol. 1: Keitokuchin jiki [Chinese arts and crafts series. Chinese ceramics, vol. 1, Jingdezhen porcelain], Kyoto, 1982, p. 82. Further vases of this type, but of slightly smaller size, include one in the Jingdezhen Ceramic Museum, Jingdezhen, illustrated in Chugoku kogei bijutsu sosho: Chugoku toji hen, vol. 1: Keitokuchin jiki [Chinese arts and crafts series. Chinese ceramics, vol. 1, Jingdezhen porcelain], Kyoto, 1982, p. 82; another published inThe Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV. Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 24; and a third sold in these rooms, 11th June 1996, lot 82.

The use of copper-red glaze at Jingdezhen was revived by the Kangxi Emperor after a decline in it usage during the late 15th century. With the wish to reproduce classic Ming sacrificial red (jihong) porcelains, Qing copper-red pieces quickly outnumbered their Ming counterparts. Nigel Wood in Chinese Glazes, London, 1999, p. 180, notes how the French Jesuit missionary, Père François d’Entrecolles (b. 1664-1741) wrote letters giving detailed accounts of the copper-red production at Jingdezhen, the sourcing of the copper for the glaze, the recipes and the kiln location of the firing of these wares. D’Entrecolles was aware of the difficulties involved in the making of copper-red wares and his account confirms the high level of technical knowledge acquired by the potters at Jingdezhen. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 07 oct. 2015, 02:30 PM