Lot 913. A teadust-glazed gu-form vase, Qianlong six-character incised seal mark and of the period (1736-1795); 18.1 cm high. Price realised USD 604,800 (Estimate: USD 200,000 – USD 300,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023.

The vase rises from a splayed foot to the raised mid-section and a flaring neck, and is covered overall in an opaque glaze of finely mottled, dark yellowish-green color that continues into the interior and also covers the base, with the foot rim covered with a dark brown wash.

Provenance: Estate of James A. Johnson, Minneapolis.
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Julian Ganz, Los Angeles.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4691.

Note: The shape of this elegantly potted vase follows that of the archaic bronze gu from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. This adaption, however, is molded without any of the complex motifs normally found on archaic bronzes, which accentuates the graceful contours of the vase and accentuates the rich glaze. Vases of this form were made in various glaze colors during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, but those applied with teadust glaze are rare. A similar Qianlong teadust-glazed gu in the National Palace Museum, is illustrated in Monochrome Porcelains of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Taipei, 1981, colour pl. 30. Another Qianlong teadust-glazed gu molded with flanges on the body is in the Baur Collection and illustrated in The Baur Collection- Chinese Ceramics, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pl. A395.

Christie's. J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 23 march 2023