1970s Vintage Chinese Peach Blossom-Glazed Bottle Vases- a Pair

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For sale is an unusual pair of vintage Chinese peach blossom-glazed (Jiang Dou Hong) porcelain bottle vases (Dan Ping), made … Read more For sale is an unusual pair of vintage Chinese peach blossom-glazed (Jiang Dou Hong) porcelain bottle vases (Dan Ping), made after the imperial Kangxi vase of the same form, the pear-shaped vase has a tall, cylindrical neck and is covered overall with an even and smooth glaze of pale-brownish-red tone. The interior and the base are glazed white. There is a handwritten six-character Kangxi mark in underglaze-blue to the base of each vase. Both vases are in excellent condition with minor surface wear from the age and handling.
Private Washington DC collection, originally purchased in Hong Kong in 70s.
5 1/4 in. (13 cm), 9 1/2 in. (24 cm) high

*Kangxi peach blossom glaze, also known as Jiang Dou Hong (豇豆红), is a copper-based, mottled red glaze with a pinkish red ground and red blushes. Also known as "big red robe" or "cardinal red" (bright red and flawless), second class is "bean red", apple-red", "beauty's blush" or "drunken beauty" and come with mottles in different shades. Third category is lighter in tone and called "baby's face" or "peach blossom". Lower qualities includes "baby-mouse skin" or "elm bark", "donkey's liver" and "horse's lung" etc. It was developed during the Kangxi period, around the third quarter of the 17th century, and was still in use in the 1950s. The quality of the peach bloom glaze varies a lot between individual pieces in such degree that it appears as if the variations was appreciated and judged individually depending on the beauty of each item.
*These two elegant vases in Chinese are known as dan ping or danshi ping (胆瓶), literally meaning gallbladder vase. This name may be a simple reference to the shape of the vessel, but could equally carry with it the connotation of bravery or courage, which is also associated with the character dan. Essentially, it is a graceful pear-shaped vase with columnar neck raising from sloping shoulders and with a straight mouth, devoid of eversion. See less