A RARE COPPER-RED-GLAZED 'LANGYAO' PORCELAIN MEIPING, China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1661-1722)

Catalogue Notes:

Although copper-red glazes were first developed at Jingdezhen during the Yuan dynasty, in the fourteenth century, their use was largely abandoned during the fifteenth century due to the difficulty of controlling this particularly unstable pigment. It was only under the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1662–1722) that artisans resumed experimenting with the sought-after glazing effects that copper red could produce. The langyao glaze was reworked under the supervision of Lang Tingji (1663–1715), superintendent of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen from 1705 to 1712, whose name is believed to have given rise to the term. Under his direction, imperial potters sought to recreate the lost formula of the early Ming period, perfecting the production of deep copper-red glazes. They also manipulated the glaze to achieve the delicate mottled effects seen on peachbloom porcelains.

康熙时期的梅瓶琅琊极为罕见；华盛顿特区国家美术馆藏有一件色调相近的琅琊瓶，编号1942.9.527（链接）。纽约大都会艺术博物馆藏有一件较小的梅瓶琅琊，编号14.40.70（链接）。另可参阅2025年6月12日苏富比亚洲艺术专场拍卖会上售出的较小梅瓶琅琊，拍品编号149（链接）。