The jar is stoutly potted, the ovoid body with broad shoulders and a short tapered neck, painted in vivid underglaze blue with large lotus blossoms borne on scrolling vines and arabesques above a band of lappets enclosing floral sprays. The shoulder is encircled by the Eight Buddhist Emblems amid clouds and flames, below an archaistic band and a ruyi collar, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character Guangxu mark.
According to archival records published in Qinggong Ciqi Dangan Quanji (Complete Collection of Qing Palace Porcelain Archives), fifty blue-and-white covered vases were ordered for the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity (Kunning Gong) in the first year of the Guangxu reign (1875). This documentary evidence strongly suggests that the present vase was produced as part of this imperial commission and therefore may be dated to the inaugural year of the Guangxu period. Significantly, the archives record a production of only fifty examples, highlighting the rarity of this type among late Qing imperial porcelains.
Compare a jar and cover of closely related form and decoration in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated together with its original design drawing in Guanyang ciqi: Gugong bowuyuancang Qingdai zhici guanyang yu yuyao ciqi (Imperially Designed Porcelains: Qing Imperial Porcelain and Their Designs in the Collection of the Palace Museum), Beijing, pl. 106. Another example, preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated by H.A. van Oort in Chinese Porcelain of the 19th and 20th Centuries, Lochem, 1977, pl. 66.
For a closely comparable jar, lacking the Guangxu reign mark and fitted with an associated cover, see Christie's New York, 18 January 2018, lot 28, sold for US$43,750.
清光緒 「大清光緒年製」六字雙行楷書青花款及本朝 青花纏枝蓮紋大蓋罐
此罐器形飽滿敦厚，溜肩，短頸微收，通體以青花繪飾。腹部主體繪纏枝蓮紋，碩大的蓮花盛放於卷草紋與阿拉伯式蔓草紋之間，下承一周內繪折枝花卉的仰蓮瓣紋。肩部環飾八寶紋，周圍點綴祥雲與火焰紋，其上飾仿古帶紋及如意雲頭紋。底書青花「大清光緒年製」六字雙行楷書款。
據《清宮瓷器檔案全集》記載，光緒元年（1875年）曾為坤寧宮燒造「青花有蓋瓶」五十件。此項宮廷檔案記錄為本器的斷代提供了重要依據，顯示其極可能即屬此次御窯特別燒造之作，因而可推定其燒造年代為光緒元年。尤為值得注意的是，檔案僅記載燒造五十件，數量極為有限，不僅反映其專為宮廷陳設而作的特殊性，亦彰顯此類器物於晚清官窯瓷器中的罕見程度與重要地位。
可比較北京故宮博物院藏一件形制及紋飾相近的青花蓋罐，其連同對應設計畫稿收錄於《官樣瓷器：故宮博物院藏清代製瓷官樣與御窯瓷器》，圖版106。另一例藏於臺北國立故宮博物院，著錄於 H.A. van Oort《Chinese Porcelain of the 19th and 20th Centuries》，Lochem，1977年，圖版66。
另可參考佳士得紐約2018年1月18日拍賣，拍品28號，一件與本器形制及紋飾極為相近的青花罐，惟底部無光緒年款，並配後配蓋，成交價43,750美元。
53cm high overall
Estimate $35,000 - $55,000
The Jar is overall in good condition, there is a shallow chip measured about 4x2.5cm on the rim of the cover, otherwise overall in good condition.
The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Prospective buyers are encouraged to seek further information or request additional images during our pre-sale period where Leonard Joel staff are available for advice. Please note condition reports can be amended during the pre-sale period, so we strongly suggest any interested bidders check the published condition report available on the website before the auction commences. Leonard Joel makes no guarantee of the originality of mechanical or applied components. Absence of reference to such modifications does not imply that a lot is free from modifications.
An important private collection, Sydney, Australia.
Important Chinese & Asian Art
AUCTION
Sale: LJ8825
11:00am - 25 October 2026
Hawthorn
VIEWING
Thurs 22 - Sat 24 October, 11am - 5pm
2 Oxley Rd, Hawthorn VIC
CONTACT
Luke Guan
luke.guan@leonardjoel.com.au
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