The vase has an elegant pear-shaped body rising from a short spreading foot to a slender neck before with a flared mouth rim, carved through the lustrous, thick brown glaze contrasting with the pale white slip. The wide, central band of scrolling foliage, set between two smaller bands on the lower neck and lower body.
POR
Dimensions: 27.3cm high
Provenance:
Spink & Son, London, 3 February 1987 (invoice)
A private Belgian collection
The vase has an elegant pear-shaped body rising from a short spreading foot to a slender neck before with a flared mouth rim, carved through the lustrous, thick brown glaze contrasting with the pale white slip. The wide, central band of scrolling foliage, set between two smaller bands on the lower neck and lower body.
The carving technique employed on this vase was among the most meticulous and technically demanding. The process began with the application of a pale slip to the vessel, which was allowed to dry before a second layer of dark slip was applied over it. Once dry, portions of the dark slip were carefully carved away to reveal the underlying pale surface, creating a striking contrast in which the decorative elements appeared in dark brown against a light background. Executing this technique required considerable skill and precision to ensure that the carving did not penetrate too deeply and removed both layers of slip. Additional details, such as the finely incised lines within the foliage seen on this vase, were introduced using a sharp point to enhance the visual depth and intricacy of the design.
Compare a near identical vase, offered at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2013, lot 3284. Another example from the Feng Weng Tang Collection, offered by Bonhams Hong Kong, 9 October 2014, lot 193. A similar vase from the collection of Captain Dugald Malcolm is illustrated by Margaret Medley in ‘The Chinese Potter, A Practical History of Chinese Ceramics’, New York, 1976, p. 134-135, no. 97 ss and another illustrated by Mitsuru Uragami, ‘The 30th Anniversary of Uragami Sokyu-do’, Tokyo, 2009, p. 44.
