Dimensions: Height 11,6 cm Wide 7,3 cm Depth 7,3 cm
Weight: 165 grams

Of elegant bottle form, the body swelling from a narrow, slightly splayed foot to a rounded shoulder and rising into a tall, slender neck with flared rim. The vessel is covered overall in a delicate clair-de-lune glaze of soft bluish-lavender tone, the color pooling in areas around the foot and showing subtle crackle throughout. The unglazed footrim reveals the fine white porcelain body, while the recessed base is glazed and inscribed with double blue circles.

The clair-de-lune (“moonlight”) glaze was one of the most admired monochromes developed under the Kangxi emperor, prized for its ethereal translucency and refined luminosity. This particular glaze recalls the restrained beauty of Song dynasty monochrome ceramics such as Ru and Guan wares, but with the technical precision of the Jingdezhen kilns. Vases of this form and glaze would have been treasured both as decorative display pieces and as embodiments of imperial taste.

Comparative note:
Clair-de-lune glazes continued to be produced during the Yongzheng (1723–1735) and Qianlong (1736–1795) reigns, though the aesthetic shifted subtly. Yongzheng examples often show an even paler, almost icy lavender tone with an emphasis on purity and delicacy, in keeping with that reign’s refined taste. By contrast, Qianlong pieces sometimes display a stronger, more saturated bluish hue, reflecting the emperor’s preference for bolder, more assertive monochromes. Kangxi-period examples, like the present vase, are especially admired for their balance between softness of tone and technical sophistication, making them among the most desirable of all clair-de-lune wares.