Description:
A ROBIN’S-EGG GLAZED GU, QING DYNASTY
China, 18th-19th century. The body with a bulbous middle section between two raised fillets, rising from a tall splayed foot to a trumpet mouth, overall with an unctuous, mottled turquoise-blue glaze. Archaistic leiwen and palm leaf decor in high relief.
Provenance: Private collection, Hessen, Germany, acquired in the 1960s/70s and thence by descent in the same family.
Condition: Excellent condition with only minor wear. The inner of the vase with extensive calcification from former usage. Scattered small pits and other minor firing flaws.
Weight: 624.6 grams
Dimensions: Height 21.4 cm
Illegible six-character mark incised to base.
The mottled glaze on this vase was first developed in the Yongzheng reign by the talented Superintendent of the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, Tang Ying (1682-1756). In order to recreate the celebrated Jun glazes of the Song and Ming dynasties, Tang sent his trusted assistant to the Jun region in Henan province to learn from the local potters. Among the many types of glazes derived from those efforts are mottled purple ones, such as the flambé variety, and mottled turquoise ones such as ‘robin’s egg’. This glaze is mentioned in Tang’s Taocheng jishi bei ji (Commemorative stele on ceramic production) from 1735. The color of ‘Robin’s Egg’ glaze is described as intermediate between the glazes of the Shiwan kilns of Foshan, Guangdong province, and those used by the Yixing kilns in Jiangsu province, but having a more beautiful mottled effect.
Auction result comparison: Compare with a related Gu at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on May 30th, 2019, in Chinese Art, lot 463.
清代鈞藍釉花觚
中國,十八至十九世紀。 斑駁的綠松石藍色釉,花觚上飾芭蕉葉紋與雷紋。
來源:德國黑森州私人收藏 ,購於1960-1970年代,至此保留在同一家族中。
品相:品相極好,僅輕微磨損。觚内有嚴重的經年鈣化,分散的小坑,輕微燒製瑕疵 。
重量: 624.6 克
尺寸: 高 21.4 厘米