Lot 2907. A rare Ru-type glazed vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 8 in. (20.3 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,500,000 (USD 102,718 - USD 192,597). Unsold. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

The vase is potted with a slender ovoid body rising to a narrow waisted neck and a flaring mouth rim, supported on a spreading foot, applied overall with a soft bluish grey glaze suffused with a wide network of fine pale brown crackles, the foot ring with a brown wash, box. 

Provenance: Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1582.

Note: Vases of this form with guan-type glazes are known, including one in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, illustrated by Mino and Robinson, Beauty and Tranquility, The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, p. 340, fig. 20; and another sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 October 2002, lot 722A. Compare also a related Qianlong vase covered in a pale celadon glaze, illustrated by J. Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. III, Geneva, 1974, no. A380.