Expert’s note: Porcelain with a ‘robin’s egg’ glaze was produced in limited quantities, making moon flasks with this glaze exceedingly rare. Only two other examples with Qianlong marks have been on the auction market outside China (see comparisons below), and they are both of a different type.
The elegant form of the present flask follows early Ming dynasty prototypes inspired by Middle Eastern metal wares. For comparison, see a Yongle period blue and white flask of near-identical form, featuring a similarly flattened moon-shaped body rising from a circular splayed foot to a garlic neck, flanked by a pair of handles ending with ruyi-shaped terminals on the shoulders, further decorated with two domed lugs, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on 9 October 2023, lot 301.

China, circa 1740-1750. Meticulously potted, the flask is overall covered in a pale turquoise and dark lavender glaze of which the flowing and pooling is masterfully controlled, with minuscule spots accentuating the lip, handles, and foot rim. The glaze then expands along the body into wider patterns of streaks and isthmuses, creating a dense landscape resembling rocky peaks interspersed with deep crevices and grottoes.

The broad, flattened and unglazed foot is covered with a brown wash, encircling a concave well which is covered with a 'robin's egg' glaze. The center of this well is neatly incised with a six-character seal mark da Qing Qianlong nianzhi and of the period.

Provenance: West Berkshire, United Kingdom, local trade. By repute acquired from a private estate.
Condition: Good condition with expected old wear, the glaze flaking at the upper rim and to one boss with associated minor glaze losses, revealing the white ware underneath. Some areas of the glaze show dense networks of crackling, which are inherent to firing.

Weight: 902.3 g
Dimensions: Height 18.2 cm

The 'robin's egg' glaze represents a significant technical innovation of the preceding Yongzheng period attributable to Tang Ying (1682-1756), the greatest porcelain superintendent in Chinese history. The Yongzheng Emperor, who initiated many revivals of earlier ceramic techniques, was particularly enamored with the variegated Jun glazes of the Song and Ming dynasties. In order to have the glazes recreated or imitated, Tang Ying sent his trusted assistant from the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, on study trips to the Jun region in Henan province to learn from the local potters. Among the many types of glazes derived from those efforts are mottled purple ones such as the flambé variety, and mottled turquoise ones such as ‘robin’s egg’, which Tang Ying termed lu Jun or Oven Jun, (Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Archaeology et al, The Cultures of Porcelain Superintendents and Jingdezhen, conference volume, Nanchang, 2011).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 April 2015, lot 3627
Price: HKD 12,080,000 or approx. EUR 1,707,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An extremely fine and brilliantly enamelled robin's-egg glazed moonflask, incised seal mark and period of Qianlong
Expert remark: Compare the closely related ‘robin’s egg’ glaze and incised reign mark, as well as the related moon flask form.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1305
Price: HKD 19,720,000 or approx. EUR 3,717,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine and magnificent peacock-feather-glazed moonflask, bianhu
Expert remark: Compare the closely related ‘robin’s egg’ glaze and incised reign mark, as well as the related moon flask form. Note the size (26.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: China Guardian Hong Kong, 7 October 2022, lot 1317
Estimate: HKD 1,200,000 or approx. EUR 148,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Qianlong Six-Character Sealmark and of the Period (1736-1795) A Robin's Egg-Glazed Double-Gourd Vase
Expert remark: Compare the related pattern of flowing and pooling of the glaze and Qianlong mark. Note the different form and larger size (26.7 cm).

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