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Lot Essay
The distinctive form of this exceptional vase is known as ganlanping, or olive-shaped vase, and was inspired by early bronze prototypes, such as the middle Western Zhou-dynasty ritual wine container and cover, hu, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 2003.66.11a, b (fig.1). Like the present vase, the bronze hu features small cylindrical handles flanking the neck and a pair of pierced slots above the splayed foot.
The ganlanping form was admired in all three of the great imperial reigns of the Qing dynasty - Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. This grand design was adopted and adapted by the imperial potters in each successive reign and is found with and without handles, decorated with a range of glazes and with nuanced variations in the overall shape. Two vases which exemplify the Kangxi shape, each incised with decoration under a pale blue glaze, are illustrated by J. Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, no. A 326, which has a straight neck and no flare to the foot, and no. A 328, which has a tall slender neck rising to a slightly everted mouth rim. For Yongzheng a monochrome-glazed example, a copper-red-glazed vase, in the collection of the Palace Museum, are illustrated in Qingdai Yuyao ciqi, juan I:II, Beijing, 2005, pp. 38-9, no. 9.
The more robust ganlanping form of the present vase, with its straight neck, appears to be significantly rarer. A Yongzheng celadon-glazed ganlanping vase of the same size as the current vase, and with tubular handles and pierced slots above the foot, but lacking gilt decoration, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 3 December 2015, lot 22; another example of this type, also lacking gilt decoration, was collected by Herman A. E. Jaehne (d. 1951) and Paul C. Jaehne (d. 1951). It was gifted to The Newark Museum, Newark, in 1941 (accession no. 41.2027B) and sold at Sotheby’s New York, 18 March 2025, lot 125. Also see a Yongzheng vase of this shape with tubular handles and pierced slots above the foot, but decorated in famille rose enamels on a coral-red ground, and of smaller size (31.4 cm.), in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Selected Porcelain of the Flourishing Qing Dynasty at the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1994, p. 181, no. 25 (fig. 2).
The rare addition of the gilt-decorated bands of floral scroll around the mouth rim and foot rim beautifully complement the shape of the vase and were painted with great skill. The carefully chosen flowers incorporated into the floral scroll each conveyed a particular wish to those who saw the vase – the hibiscus for wealth and glory; the lotus for harmony, beauty and purity; and the peony for wealth and honor. The fact that these flowers are shown borne on a meandering vine is also significant. One of the Chinese words for ‘vine’ is man, which is a pun for wan, meaning ‘ten thousand’. The ruyi heads below the band of floral scroll at the mouth rim provides an additional wish for longevity. The ruyi shape is based on a stylized form of the lingzhi fungus, which was believed to be able to prolong life, ward off evil and ensure the vigor of its possessor.
The ganlanping form was admired in all three of the great imperial reigns of the Qing dynasty - Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. This grand design was adopted and adapted by the imperial potters in each successive reign and is found with and without handles, decorated with a range of glazes and with nuanced variations in the overall shape. Two vases which exemplify the Kangxi shape, each incised with decoration under a pale blue glaze, are illustrated by J. Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, no. A 326, which has a straight neck and no flare to the foot, and no. A 328, which has a tall slender neck rising to a slightly everted mouth rim. For Yongzheng a monochrome-glazed example, a copper-red-glazed vase, in the collection of the Palace Museum, are illustrated in Qingdai Yuyao ciqi, juan I:II, Beijing, 2005, pp. 38-9, no. 9.
The more robust ganlanping form of the present vase, with its straight neck, appears to be significantly rarer. A Yongzheng celadon-glazed ganlanping vase of the same size as the current vase, and with tubular handles and pierced slots above the foot, but lacking gilt decoration, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 3 December 2015, lot 22; another example of this type, also lacking gilt decoration, was collected by Herman A. E. Jaehne (d. 1951) and Paul C. Jaehne (d. 1951). It was gifted to The Newark Museum, Newark, in 1941 (accession no. 41.2027B) and sold at Sotheby’s New York, 18 March 2025, lot 125. Also see a Yongzheng vase of this shape with tubular handles and pierced slots above the foot, but decorated in famille rose enamels on a coral-red ground, and of smaller size (31.4 cm.), in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Selected Porcelain of the Flourishing Qing Dynasty at the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1994, p. 181, no. 25 (fig. 2).
The rare addition of the gilt-decorated bands of floral scroll around the mouth rim and foot rim beautifully complement the shape of the vase and were painted with great skill. The carefully chosen flowers incorporated into the floral scroll each conveyed a particular wish to those who saw the vase – the hibiscus for wealth and glory; the lotus for harmony, beauty and purity; and the peony for wealth and honor. The fact that these flowers are shown borne on a meandering vine is also significant. One of the Chinese words for ‘vine’ is man, which is a pun for wan, meaning ‘ten thousand’. The ruyi heads below the band of floral scroll at the mouth rim provides an additional wish for longevity. The ruyi shape is based on a stylized form of the lingzhi fungus, which was believed to be able to prolong life, ward off evil and ensure the vigor of its possessor.