69.0 cm. (27 1/8 in.) high

Provenance:
A Hong Kong private collection, acquired in the 1970s, and thence by descent within the family

The present lot appears to be a small group of wares produced in the Yongzheng period in homage to the Song and Yuan dynasties tradition of Longquan. The carved design on the pair of vases is precise and crisp for its monumental size and beautifully spaced around the surface of the vases, demonstrating the technical virtuosity achieved by the master potters during the Yongzheng reign. Compare a very similar phoenix tail vase in imitation of Longquan ware with also with Yongzheng six-character zhuanshu seal mark and of the period (accession no.zhongci1530zhongbo148) in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Feng Mingzhu, Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, Taipei, 2009, p.202, no.II-29.
According to Archives of the Qing Palace Workshops in the Imperial Household Department at the Qing Court, the Imperial Workshop was established by the Kangxi emperor and was fully operational by the Yongzheng period. The Imperial Workshop was responsible for the production of objects and utensils used by the imperial family, and production planning and blueprints for each object had to be submitted to the emperor for official approval. In the event when a specific decoration or shape failed to comply with imperial expectations, the object in question had to be returned for modification, adjustment, or complete overhaul. For this reason, imperial objects made on commission by Imperial Workshop were fully in reflection of the emperor's artistic taste. In the eyes of the Yongzheng emperor in particular, objects made by the Imperial Workshop had to feature a specific ‘court style’ which is considered a level above those used by the masses.
The aesthetic reference to the Longquan wares is in line with the personal taste of the Yongzheng emperor, and is a reflection of the emperor's personal affinity to antiquity and his admiration and desire to learn and be inspired by the archaic forms. Longquan wares with molded and applied decoration first appeared in the late Song dynasty and were produced in larger quantities during the Yuan. Compare to an almost identical Longquan vase dated to the Yuan dynasty in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, pp.184-185, no.167. Compare also a similarly-shaped vase from the formerly in the Sir Percival David Foundation, presently residing in the British Museum, London, inscribed with the date corresponding to 1327, illustrated by Margaret Medley, Yuan Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1974, pl.58.

Price estimate:
HKD: 3,200,000 - 3,800,000
USD: 410,300 - 487,200

Auction Result:
HKD: 2,655,000