Lot Essay
The glaze on this vase is particularly good. Its texture and thickness resemble the earlier Kangxi glaze, while its colour has a more delicate bluish tone that became more pronounced in the Yongzheng period.
The shape of this vase emulates that of Han bronze prototypes. The thickened band around the neck, as well as the moulded bands on the body, are features from bronze hu such as the one in the Ashmoleum Museum, Oxford, illustrated in Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, pl. 77b. The shape of the present lot is also seen in earlier Han lead- glazed ceramics. The mask handles were adapted on the porcelain vessel but while the mouldings were simplified to suit porcelain, further decoration such as bracket curls on the mane, was added to enhance the shape.
Vases of the same shape have been found with different types of glaze. A Yongzheng marked robin's-egg-glaze vase is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, the Palace Museum Collection, Catalogue, pl. 119, and a Yongzheng marked 'eel-skin'-glazed hu shaped vase was sold in Hong Kong, 29 April 1997, lot 587.
(US$35,000-45,000)
The shape of this vase emulates that of Han bronze prototypes. The thickened band around the neck, as well as the moulded bands on the body, are features from bronze hu such as the one in the Ashmoleum Museum, Oxford, illustrated in Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, pl. 77b. The shape of the present lot is also seen in earlier Han lead- glazed ceramics. The mask handles were adapted on the porcelain vessel but while the mouldings were simplified to suit porcelain, further decoration such as bracket curls on the mane, was added to enhance the shape.
Vases of the same shape have been found with different types of glaze. A Yongzheng marked robin's-egg-glaze vase is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, the Palace Museum Collection, Catalogue, pl. 119, and a Yongzheng marked 'eel-skin'-glazed hu shaped vase was sold in Hong Kong, 29 April 1997, lot 587.
(US$35,000-45,000)