A SMALL AND RARE CLAIR-DE-LUNE GLAZE WATER POT, TAIBO ZUN YO...

1/5

Hammer

£70,000

Fees

A SMALL AND RARE CLAIR-DE-LUNE GLAZE WATER POT, TAIBO ZUN
YONGZHENG SIX CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)
天蓝釉水丞雍正 1723-1735
大清雍正年制款
delicately potted with a compressed globular body of harmonious proportion, rising from a neatly finished foot to a short upright mouth, the vessel is covered overall in a clair-de-lune glaze of exquisite and even tone, ranging from the faintest lavender-blue to a soft misty celadon at the rim. The glaze subtly pools around the footring and displays the satin-smooth texture characteristic of the finest imperial porcelains of the Yongzheng reign.

The present example, with its flawless surface, elegant proportions and exceptional clair-de-lune tone, represents an outstanding and particularly well-preserved specimen of this highly sought-after imperial form.

The soft, gentle hue of clair-de-lune is one of the most treasured Qing glazes, and was reserved exclusively for Imperial porcelains. The colour appears first in Kangxi porcelains it was one of the most successful monochrome glazes created in Jingdezhen during the Kangxi period and was reserved exclusively for imperial porcelains, during Yongzheng period only a very small group has been produced and it has representing the refined elegence of Yongzheng aesthetic; clair-de-lune wares were made in the same eight classic shapes for the writing table, as peachbloom-glazed wares, but are considerably rarer.

The restrained elegance of the form, devoid of extraneous decoration, exemplifies the refined aesthetic of the Yongzheng court, which favoured purity of line, subtlety of colour and technical perfection. The delicate translucency and flawless surface of the glaze reflect the potters’ exceptional control over glaze chemistry and kiln firing at the Jingdezhen imperial kilns. Small water pots of this type, known as shuizhu (水注), were used by scholars and calligraphers for moistening inkstones, and their diminutive scale combined with their jewel-like glaze made them treasured objects on the scholar’s desk.
5.4cm diameter

PROVENANCE: From the Private Collection of Richard Marchant and thence by descent

NOTE: Included by Richard Marchant in his paper given to the Hong Kong Oriental Ceramic Society, 23rd November 1976, titled Some Interesting Pieces of Marked Ch'ing Porcelain, no. 33, p. 51.
A closely related example, identical in form, size and glaze tone, is preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, inventory no. 故 00148727, and is published and firmly attributed to the Yongzheng period, confirming the imperial quality of this rare type.
Another comparable example, a pale-green-glazed waterpot, Yongzheng seal mark and period (5.5 cm diam.), decorated with a floral design, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Small Refined Articles of the Study, Shanghai, 2009, pl. 218.
A further related example in copper-red glaze was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 3 December 2015, lot 4.