A copper red-glazed bowl

Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period

Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period
Elegantly rising from a tall foot rim to a subtly everted mouth rim, all covered in a 'sang de boeuf' coloured glaze, thinning to a pale hue at the extremities, the base with a finely drawn underglaze-blue kaishu script reign mark within a double circle.
18.5cm (7 1/4in) diam.

Provenance: collection of Tang Shaoyi (1862-1938), the first Prime Minister of the Republic of China

The rich, even, deep, jihong glaze on the present bowl is a continuation of the glazes produced in the Yuan dynasty and the early Ming dynasty, particularly during the Hongwu and Xuande reigns. The monochrome underglaze-red glaze, also known as 'sacrificial' red, was revived during the Kangxi period under the Imperial kiln supervisor Lang Tingji (1663-1715). Copper-red glazes continued into the experimental Yongzheng period, alongside further innovations such as the flambé glaze. The Yongzheng emperor was personally involved with porcelain production in the Imperial kiln - dissatisfied with the thinness of the red glaze on some newly made vessels, he is recorded to have sent on the 14th day of the 8th month of the 7th year (corresponding to 1729) five old shards with thick sacrificial red glaze to the kiln supervisor Nian Xiyao as a reference for improvement.

Compare with a pair of bowls, Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period, sold at Sotheby's, 7 November 2011, lot 414.