Prunus Vase with Sky-clearing-red Glaze

Covered with sky-clearing-red glaze, the vase has a small mouth, a short neck, wide shoulders, a slightly downward tapering body and a white nephrite-disk-shaped bottom, on which is written a blue-and-white seal in regular script with the date of manufacture: “Made in Kangxi period of Qing dynasty”. The seal has no borders. The regular-shaped and uniformly-glazed vase indicates that the high temperature copper-red porcelain, which failed to be handed down from the middle period of the Ming dynasty, was rejuvenated in the Jingdezhen imperial kiln during the Kangxi reign.

The main kinds of high temperature copper-red glaze in the Kangxi period are sky-clearing red, lang-kiln red and kidney-bean red, each with a distinct identity. Characterized by uniform glaze and rich color, sky-clearing-red ware, besides serving as sacrificial vessels, were also used for implements in the scholar’s studio and for objects of daily use.