A fine and rare pair of lemon-yellow-enameled cups, Marks and period of Yongzheng

拍品描述

Property from a West Coast Private Collection the base of each with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double square (2) Diameter 2½ in., 6.5 cm Gloriously light in the palm, soft to the touch and sweet to the eye, the present pair of lemon-yellow cups represents the pinnacle of imperial monochrome porcelain production. The official color of the Qing dynasty and the emperor himself – yellow, huang 黄 being homophonous with emperor, huang 皇 – yellow glazes appear to have been a personal favorite of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723–1735), who involved himself diligently in the manufacture of imperial wares. As the famous imperial kiln supervisor Tang Ying notes in his records of his time working under the Yongzheng Emperor, the Tao cheng jishi (Records of Ceramic Achievements), twelve distinct yellow glazes were produced during his brief reign, enabling the production of a rich and enthralling variety of yellow imperial porcelains. The present pair, enrobed in a soft ‘lemon yellow’ derived from antimoniate oxide, is a particularly marvelous example of this innovation. Somehow both opaque yet luminous, crisp yet fluid, the present pair are a delight to touch – a fact further emphasized by the fineness of their potting. While 'imperial yellow' wares appear to have been restricted to ritual uses and employed on the Altars of the Earth and the State (cf. imperial blue wares used at the Altar of Heaven), this magnificent 'yellow lemon' provided a secular alternative for the Emperor's personal use. Surviving examples of this size and quality appear seldom to market, let alone as a pair. Compare a related cup from the collection of Dr Wou Kiuan, sold in these rooms, 22nd March 2022, lot 79, with a slightly more flared rim than the present more serene form; a further pair formerly in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, later illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 908; and a single cup, particularly close in form, sold twice in our rooms, most recently in our Hong Kong rooms, 7th October 2010, lot 2654.

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