† A CHINESE IMPERIAL FLAMBE GLAZED BOTTLE VASE

SIX CHARACTER QIANLONG MARK AND OF THE PERIOD 1736-95

The elegant pear-shaped body surmounted by a tall slender neck and raised on a short circular foot, all covered with a vivid lavender-blue glaze with large splashes of deep magenta, the base glazed brown and finely incised with the reign mark, 34.5cm.

Provenance: formerly a South American private collection.

Cf. Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th April 2011, lot 3027 for a related Qianlong vase.

It is believed that flambé glazes were an eighteenth century attempt to recreate Song dynasty Jun wares. Whilst it has been suggested that flambé glazes were first achieved, albeit possibly accidentally, in the late Kangxi period (1662-1722), pieces decorated with this distinctive abstract glaze were first commissioned by the Yongzheng Emperor (r.1723-35) and remained popular during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The two emperors' fondness for such pieces reflects their admiration and reverence for classical Jun pieces of the Song. See R Kerr, Chinese Ceramics: Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, pp.75 and 78 for a more detailed discussion on this glaze.