Bonhams 1793 : An Imperial yellow glass 'spindle' vase Qianlong wheel-cut four-character mark and of the period

A yellow glass 'spindle' vase Qianlong wheel-cut four-character mark and of the period

24 Nov 2012 15:00 CST Hong Kong
A Private North American Collection of Scholar's Objects
Back to auction 20909

An Imperial yellow glass 'spindle' vase

Qianlong wheel-cut four-character mark and of the period
The heavily constructed body of slender curved form, tapering elegantly from the narrow foot to the swollen central mid-section, rising to a long slightly flared neck, the colour of a rich dark yellow tone, the countersunk base wheel-cut with a four-character mark within a double square.
19.4cm high.

Sold for HK$ 175,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance 來源:
The Madelyn Kreisler (1890-1975) Collection, New Orleans, acquired in the 1920s-1930s

The shape of the vase derives originally from a weaving spindle, but in the Chinese context, it is interpreted as the olive form, insinuating the likeness to the pit of the natural fruit. Such shapes in the form of ceramics first appeared during the Yongzheng period, where they were decorated in monochrome, polychrome or underglaze-blue. For an olive-shaped famille rose vase from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Shanghai, 1999, p.12, pl.10.

For another closely related 'sky-blue' glass vase with Qianlong wheel-cut four-character reign mark, also preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Luster of Autumn Water. Glass of the Qing Imperial Workshop, Beijing, 2005, p.154, pl.24.

For a closely related Imperial glass vase sold at auction, see a Qianlong reign-marked turquoise-green glass vase from the collecton of Dr. Alan E. Feen, illustrated in Shangraw, Rabiner and Brown, A Chorus of Colors: Chinese Glass from Three American Collections, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1995, pp.80-81, cat.no.50, and sold in these rooms, 24 November 2010, lot 201. See also another turquoise glass vase, illustrated in Elegance and Radiance. Grandeur in Qing Glass. The Andrew K. F. Lee Collection, Art Museum. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2000, pp.170-171, no.48.

清乾隆御製黃玻璃橄欖式瓶「乾隆年製」刻款

瓶為吹製而成。口微侈，削肩，長頸，中腹微鼓，下斂收成圓形凹底。因整器形似橄欖而稱橄欖瓶。通體蛋黃色涅玻璃製成，色澤均勻，光潔瑩潤。外底中心陰刻單方框，內刻「乾隆年製」雙豎行四字楷書款。

橄欖瓶樣式多見於清代瓷器之上，尤具代表性的便是雍正款瓷胎琺瑯彩松竹梅紋橄欖瓶，器形規整秀美，見葉佩蘭編，《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：琺瑯彩，粉彩》，香港，1999年，頁12，編號10。清宮造辦處玻璃作創建於康熙中晚期，創始初期因欠缺工匠，工藝又不成熟，大部分工作皆由外國傳教士協助完成。由於玻璃製作在清宮造辦處尚屬新興工藝，其造型設計習慣借鑒於傳統工藝品中優美的器形。

此黃玻璃橄欖瓶屬新奧爾良Madelyn Kreisler（1890 - 1975年）舊藏，於上世紀20至30年代收藏。北京故宮博物院所藏一件清乾隆天藍色玻璃橄欖式瓶，為不透明涅玻璃所製，其器形與本瓶完全一致，見張榮編，《光凝秋水-清宮造辦處玻璃器》，北京，2005年，頁154，編號24。另見美國著名腫瘤學家 Dr.Alan Feen 中國玻璃器收藏中一件器形相似的仿綠松石色玻璃橄欖式瓶，曾藏於三藩市亞洲藝術博物館，《A Chorus Of Colors》，1995年，頁80-81，圖版50，後於香港邦瀚斯2010年11月24日拍賣，拍品編號201；另外李景勳藏清代玻璃中，亦有相類品，見香港中文大學文物館，《虹影瑤輝：李景勳藏清代玻璃》，香港，2000年，頁170，編號48。