Lot 457. A rare copper-red glazed pear-shaped vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 22.5 cm, 8 7/8  in. Estimate 300,000 — 500,000 HKD. Lot sold 562,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

superbly potted with a pear-shaped body rising from a splayed foot to a horizontal fillet around the shoulder, sweeping up to a tall cylindrical neck flaring towards the rim, applied to the exterior with a translucent copper-red glaze of rich crushed strawberry tone suffused with a network of fine crackle, thinning to a rosy-pink colour just below the rim and darkening to a liver-red tone as it pools around the foot, the interior and base left white, inscribed to the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Christie's London, 16th December 1981, lot 68.