A very rare Imperial copper-red 'bats and peaches' bottle vase

Jiaqing seal mark and of the period

Footnotes

清嘉慶 釉裏紅福壽雙全長頸瓶 青花「大清嘉慶年製」篆書款

Provenance:
A European private collection

來源：
歐洲私人收藏

The present vase is modelled in an elegant form inspired by bronze prototypes of the Han dynasty; the slightly more compressed globular body is a characteristic of the Jiaqing period. It is superbly painted with bats suspending sprays of ripe peach between bands of ruyi-heads, representing the wish for longevity. The underglaze-copper-red required extremely precise control of the firing process to achieve the brilliant attractive colour. Made during the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor, the vase was most likely crafted by master potters active during the peak of Qing dynasty Imperial porcelain production reached during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, exhibiting outstanding technical control and an aesthetically balanced design.

The vase is very rare in its pure decorative design in underglaze red palette; compare however, a copper-red meiping vase, Jiaqing seal mark and period, painted with lotus scrolls, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum: The Chinaware Volume, Shenyang, 2007, pp.22-23, no.14.

In its auspicious design in underglaze red, it is related to vases made from the Kangxi to the Qianlong reigns; see examples in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Shanghai, 2010, nos.164, 170, 173, and 175; and compare also a copper-red bottle vase, Qianlong seal mark and period, painted with sprays of peach, pomegranate and finger citron, in the Victoria and Albert Museum London, museum no.C93-1956.

此長頸瓶釉裏紅色調艷麗、紋飾清晰，並且有深淺不一的多層次色階，足顯窯匠對窯溫掌控以及燒造時間的精確把握，為嘉慶一朝釉裏紅中不可多得一例。

釉裏紅是用銅紅料在瓷器坯胎上描繪紋飾，然後罩以透明釉再入窯後的還原焰中一次燒成，銅元素相對不穩定，因此對窯匠對窯溫及時間掌控極其嚴格。此工藝創燒與元代，明宣德達到一高峰，明中期一度衰落。清康熙時期恢復至以前水平，雍正時更為精進。嘉慶一朝，釉裏紅發色如周正者已是屈指可數，見瀋陽故宮博物院藏一件清嘉慶釉裏紅番蓮紋瓶，《瀋陽故宮博物院藏文物精粹：瓷器卷（下）》，瀋陽，2007年，頁22-23，編號14。

釉裏紅至乾隆時期開始，紋飾圖案已經趨於規矩化，然大部分設計都承接康、乾時期的作品，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：青花釉裏紅（下）》，上海，2010年，編號164，170，173及175。見英國維多利亞及阿爾伯特博物館藏一件乾隆釉里紅三多長頸瓶，館藏編號C93-1956。