A RARE AND FINE CHINESE IMPERIAL FLAMBE-GLAZED BOTTLE VASE

A RARE AND FINE CHINESE IMPERIAL FLAMBE-GLAZED BOTTLE VASE
SIX-CHARACTER QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD 1736-95

The globular body rising to a flared neck, covered in a rich mottled glaze of purple, crimson, blue and lavender tones, thinning at the mouth to a creamy beige, raised on a high foot, the base with a seal mark incised beneath a mottled glaze, 39.3cm.

Provenance: from the Mark and Elizabeth Harding Collection, South Africa, purchased from Marchant, London, 1st November 1969, together with a copy of a letter from Marchant confirming payment received which is available.

A similar Qianlong vase is illustrated by R Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4 (II), no.1812, pp.366-367. Another related flambé vase from the Salting Bequest at the Victoria and Albert Museum is illustrated by R Kerr in Chinese Ceramics, Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, col. pl.3, pp.20-21. See also Bonhams, London, 6th November 2014, lot 17 for a similar vase from the Roy Davids Collection also purchased from Marchant.

The flambé glaze of the present lot is inspired by the Jun glazes of the Song dynasty, using attractively irregular bluish splashes where the copper red colour has drained away.

清乾隆 窰變釉賞瓶
《大清乾隆年製》篆書款
來源：南非Mark及Elizabeth Harding 收藏，1969年 11月1日購自馬錢特古董店 (附發票複印件)。