A BLUE AND WHITE TIANQIU PING, QING DYNASTY
China, 19th century. The sides painted in densely composed lotus scrolls and dragon-pair and lingzhi medallions, all between ornate scrolls and borders of archaistic blades, lappets, waves, ruyi and key fret. The base with a six-character Qianlong seal mark.

Provenance: Sotheby’s London, July 26th, 1984, lot 228. A private collection, London, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear only. Minor firing flaws.

Weight: 2798 grams
Dimensions: Height 34.8 cm

Sturdily potted and with an unctuous glaze, traditional shape consisting of a thin cylindrical neck tapering to a body of pear shape supported by an unglazed, raised foot encircling the recessed, glazed base.

Literature comparison: For other examples of similarly dense and baroque-influenced late Qing scroll work, see the blue and white square vase with birds and flowers in the Beijing Palace Museum collection dated to the Tongzhi reign (Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Daxi: Qinghua Youlihong (Shang) Shanghai Kexue Jishu Chuban She, Shangwu Yinshuguan (Hong Kong), Geng Baochang ed., page 169). The Beijing Museum collection also has numerous other examples of 19th century pieces with similar high-quality kiln and glaze control, many of which stand well in comparison with their 18th century prototypes.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related Tianqiu Ping from the Estate of George Edwin Burnell at Bonham’s San Francisco on December 11th, 2012, in Asian Decorative Arts, lot 8008.

清代青花天球瓶
中國，十九世紀。纏枝蓮花紋，一對祥龍，開光靈芝紋。乾隆六字款。

來源：Sotheby‘s London, July 26th, 1984, lot 228. 倫敦私人收藏，購於上述拍賣，之後家族保存至今。
品相：品相極好，僅有輕微磨損，些微燒製瑕疵。

重量：2798 克
尺寸：高 34.8 厘米