Kangxi Monochrome from the Leshantang Collection sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2023. © Sotheby's 2023

Lot 109. The Leshantang Collection. A peachbloom-glazed seal paste box and cover, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 7.2 cm. Lot Sold 1,397,000 HKD (Estimate 700,000 - 900,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023

the small round box covered with an attractive mottled peachbloom glaze with flecks of moss-green, the interior and recessed base glazed white, the latter inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue in three columns.

Provenance: The Hall Family Collection, inventory no. 177.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2nd May 2000, lot 517.

Literature: The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei, 2005, pls 35 and 35-4.

Exhibited: The Arts of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1964, cat. no. 258, pl. 87.
A Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramic Art, Oriental Ceramic Society, Quantas Gallery, London, 1966, cat. no. 89 (unillustrated).
The Chinese Scholars Desk 17th to 18th Century, Oriental Ceramic Society, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1979, cat. no. 52.

 Lot 119. The Leshantang Collection. A fine peachbloom-glazed beehive waterpot, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 12.6 cm. Lot Sold 4,191,000 HKD (Estimate 500,000 - 700,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023

of classic domed taibai zun form, the exterior finely incised with three roundels of archaistic dragons and evenly applied with a peachbloom glaze of a deep rose-pink tone, with raspberry-tinged flecks imitating the skin of a ripening peach, the recessed base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue in three columns.

Provenance: Bluett, London (label).
Collection of Frederick Knight.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 18th May 1982, lot 35.

Literature: The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei, 2005, pls 35 and 35-1.

Note: Notoriously difficult to achieve due to the temperamental nature of the copper pigment, the attractive 'peachbloom' glaze is only found on a small group of vessels for the scholar's table in eight different shapes, one of the most iconic groups of porcelain created under the Kangxi Emperor.

These vessels are known as taibai zun after the Tang dynasty poet Li Taibai, who is often depicted leaning against a large wine jar of similar form, as seen in a porcelain sculpture, which shows the poet seated with eyes closed and a cup in hand, published in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 89. They are also referred to as jizhao zun, as they resemble the shape of a chicken coop.

 Lot 126. The Leshantang Collection. An exceptional peachbloom-glazed brush washer, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 11.8 cm. Lot Sold 3,810,000 HKD (Estimate 500,000 - 700,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023

delicately potted with a compressed rounded body raised on a short tapered foot, the exterior covered with a brilliant peachbloom glaze of crimson tone with small areas of white flecks, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue in three columns.

Provenance: Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-80).
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th May 1981, lot 493.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 17th May 1988, lot 61.

Literature: Possibly illustrated in Helen D. Ling and Edward T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Hall of Leisurely Pastime, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1950, no. 120 (left).
Cécile and Michel Beurdeley, La Céramique Chinoise, Fribourg, 1974, col. pl. 98 (right).
The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei, 2005, pls 35 and 35-3.

 Lot 134. The Leshantang Collection. A very rare peachbloom-glazed willow-leaf vase, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 14.9 cm. Lot Sold 3,302,000 HKD (Estimate 800,000 - 1,000,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023

the slender bottle elegantly tapered towards a narrow footring with a deeply recessed base, surmounted by a tall neck with a flaring rim, evenly applied with a peachbloom glaze of a deep rose-pink tone imitating the skin of a ripening peach, with a swath of beige speckled with 'unripe peach' green inside the mouth, the lip and base glazed white, the latter inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue, wood stand.

Provenance: An important private collection formed around the late 19th to early 20th century.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25th April 2004, lot 42.

Literature: The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei, 2005, pls 35 and 35-2.

Sotheby's. The Leshantang Collection – Treasures of Chinese Art from the Tsai I-Ming Collection, Hong Kong, 8 October 2023