Lot 34. A rare Guan-type vase, Seal mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 20.5 cm, 8 in. Estimate: 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 4,032,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

masterfully potted with steep rounded sides rising to an angular shoulder surmounted by a waisted neck and a garlic-head mouth, moulded on the shoulders with two animal-mask handles suspending mock rings, covered overall in a brilliant opaque grey glaze suffused with black crackles, the foot dressed with a brown slip.

Note: The present vase is outstanding for the quality of its elegant crackle glaze, conveying a sense of gracefulness characteristic of Song dynasty Guan wares. Together with the well-proportioned form reminiscent of archaic bronze, this vase attests to the ingenuity in utilising historical precedents in the creation of new works that met the Yongzheng Emperor's exacting standards for quality and antiquarian taste.

Although no other Guan-type vases of this form appears to have been published, see a vase of closely related form but covered in a flambé glaze offered in these rooms, 8th April 2011, lot 3034. See also a line drawing of this form included among Yongzheng shapes in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, p. 236, fig. 403:12, where it is referred to as suantoukou zun ('garlic-head mouth vase')

Sotheby's. Monochrome II, 9 October 2020, Hong Kong