Since its inception in the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), Guan ('official') ware has been one of the most coveted types of Chinese ceramics. The Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795) was a great admirer of Guan wares and composed numerous poems lauding its beauty. Some of these poems were even inscribed onto Guan ceramics from his personal collects ion, as seen on two Southern Song bottle vases each inscribed on the base with an Imperial poem, now preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and included in the exhibition Obtaining Refined Enjoyment: The Qianlong Emperor's Taste in Ceramics, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2012, cat. nos 30 and 31.

Aside from collects ing and appreciating Song dynasty Guan wares, the Qianlong Emperor also commissioned Guan-type ceramics at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, imitating the glaze and overall appearance of early Song vessels, but in 18th century forms and techniques. The present vase is a superb example of wares from this group. The vessel's unctuous, bluish glaze suffused with delicate golden-brown crackles faithfully imitates Guan glazes of the Song dynasty. Its white porcelain foot is stained brown to mimic the characteristic brown foot of Song stonewares, a feature derived from the purplish clay used during the Song period. The vase's rare and elegant form was devised in the Kangxi period (1662-1722), and was revived with minor variations in proportion during the Qianlong reign. Two similar Kangxi mark and period celadon-glazed vases from the Qing Court collects ion, one with craquelure and the other without, are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete collects ion of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pls 127 and 129; another celadon-glazed Kangxi mark and period vase is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (acc. no. 中-瓷-005559-N000000000). For Southern Song precedents of Guan vases, see a pear-shaped example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 26.292.81). Another, which rests on a tall foot and has a lipped rim, is housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and published in Rose Kerr, Song Dynasty Ceramics, London, 2004, pl. 93. Compare also a vase with cream-colored glaze, tall neck, and lobed walls, exhibited in The Special Exhibition of Sung Dynasty Kuan Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1989, cat. no. 53.

For related Qing dynasty Guan-type vases, see a Qianlong mark and period example of identical form to the present, formerly in the J.M. Hu collects ion, included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Monochromes. The Zande Lou collects ion, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, cat. no. 35, and later sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 102 (fig. 1); another, from the collects ion of W.W. Winkworth, with a crackled glaze sold in our London rooms, 26th April 1966, lot 162, and again 12th December 1972, lot 149; two other vases from the Evelyn Annenberg Hall collects ion, one with and the other without craquelure, sold at Christie's New York, 29th March 2006, lots 114 and 115. A Ru-type example sold in these rooms, 29th October 1991, lot 95, and later at Christie's Hong Kong, 2nd November 1999, lot 503, from the collects ion of Robert Chang. Lastly, a teadust-glazed example from the collects ion of the Hosokawa Clan was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2014, lot 3112 (fig. 2).

Solomon Solis Carvalho (1856-1942) was a General Manager and Editor-in-Chief of Hearst Newspapers. In February 1914, he had a sale of over 1,000 lots of Chinese porcelain at the American Art Galleries, New York, titled Beautiful Old Chinese Porcelains: The Extraordinary Private collects ion of S.S. Carvalho. This vase was purchased by Simon F. Rothschild (1861-1936), president and chairman of the board at Abraham & Straus, a prominent New York City department store. The vase has remained in the family ever since, appearing now at auction for the first t.mes in over 100 years.

宋代官窰可謂舉世之珍，自古倍受青睞。乾隆帝好古亦尚宋瓷，多作詩文詠讚官器，更見清宮珍藏官窰器加刻御題詩者，如見兩件南宋官窰弦紋瓶，底部均刻有乾隆三十八年御題詩，現藏台北國立故宮博物院，曾展《得佳趣：乾隆皇帝的陶瓷品味》，國立故宮博物院，台北，2012年，編號30及31。

珍賞宋窰的同時乾隆亦命景德鎮御窰廠仿宋初官窰之釉色及造型，以十八世紀形制及工藝燒製仿官釉器。本品當屬此類仿官釉瓷中之精品，釉色淡藍細潤，器身見金棕細紋，仿官而製，白瓷足施褐釉，摹宋炻器之棕足，傳承宋代官窰「紫口鐵足」之風格。此瓶器形清雅罕見，乃康熙朝所創，後於乾隆時期比例微調後復現。

兩件相近康熙青釉例，皆屬清宮舊藏，其一開片，藏北京故宮博物院，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集・顏色釉》，香港，1999年，圖版127及129。另一康熙青釉例，台北國立故宮博物院藏，藏品編號中-瓷-005559-N000000000。尋南宋官窰原型，可比一直頸瓶例，現藏紐約大都會藝術博物館，藏品編號026.292.81。另一例 ，現藏倫敦維多利亞與艾爾伯特博物館，載於柯玫瑰《宋瓷》，倫敦，2004年，圖版93。再比一例 ，展於《宋官窰特展》，國立故宮博物院，台北，1989年，編號53。

再考清代仿官釉類例，如見一與本品同類之乾隆仿官釉闊口瓶例，胡惠春收藏，曾展《暫得樓清代官窰單色釉瓷器》，上海博物館，上海，2005年，編號35，後售於香港蘇富比2012年10月9日，編號102 (圖一)；另見一乾隆釉面開片近例，出自W.W. Winkworth舊藏，先後於1966年4月26日及1972年12月12日售於倫敦蘇富比，編號162及編號149。再比兩件出自Evelyn Annenberg Hall收藏，其中一件釉面開片，售於紐約佳士得2006年3月29日，編號114及115。另有一仿汝釉例，1991年10月29日售於香港蘇富比，編號95，入張宗憲收藏，1999年11月2日再售於香港佳士得，編號503。另見一茶葉末釉例，細川家族珍藏，2014年10月8日售於香港蘇富比，編號3112 (圖二)。

Solomon Solis Carvalho (1856-1942) 曾在赫斯特報業擔任總經理兼總編職務，1914年2月於紐約美國藝術聯盟上拍逾一千件中國瓷器，拍賣會題為「Beautiful Old Chinese Porcelains: The Extraordinary Private collects ion of S.S. Carvalho」。此瓶由時紐約市知名百貨公司Abraham & Straus總裁兼董事會主席Simon F. Rothschild (1861-1936) 購入，此後在家族內傳承至今，逾一世紀後首次重現拍場。