RARE VASE EN PORCELAINE CELADONXVIIIe siècleA RARE CELADON-GLAZED AND ENAMELLED BALUSTER VASE18th centuryThe body of gently rounded tapering form, moulded with raised square and rectangular sections, the sloping shoulders applied with six prominent bosses and rising to a tall cylindrical neck set with a pair of angular scroll handles suspending tabs below a galleried rim, covered overall with an unctuous pale celadon glaze, the base encircled with a band of lappets in overglaze blue and white enamels, the foot covered with a brown wash, the base with four incised and gilt charactersTang Ying zhi zao.38.3cm (15 1/8in) high.Provenance: 十八世紀 粉青釉藍彩殼紋雙耳盤口折肩瓶Provenance:Sotheby's London, 11th May 2011, lot 82來源:倫敦蘇富比，2011年5月11日，編號82This elegant vase is remarkable for its well-balanced and pleasing proportions. With its sharply angled shoulders and prominent raised bosses it alludes to metal prototypes made in the repoussé technique. The lustrous celadon glaze covers the entire surface, enveloping and softening the raised angular parts of the design. The overall effect is harmonious and balanced.The subtle celadon glaze shows the influence of Song glazes including Ru, Ge and Guan, favoured by the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors, including the slip-coated wash on the foot, see the many examples of imperially inscribed Song Ge, Guan and Ru-ware in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Yu Peichin,Obtaining Refined Enjoyment. The Qianlong Emperor's Taste in Ceramics, Taipei, 2012. Not only did the Qianlong emperor collect Song dynasty examples of Ru wares, he alsomissioned new porcelains with a similar glaze from the imperial kilns.Apart from the blue and white enamelled border around the base, another interesting feature of this vase are the four characters incised onto the glaze on the base of the vase around a central domed protrusion. Two characters read Tang Ying, and must refer to the influential superintendent of the Imperial kilns between 1726-1756 who served both the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors. Tang Ying was an innovator and artist whose experience and insight into the challenges of porcelain production allowed him to improve technical aspects of porcelain production which allowed the Jingdezhen kilns to produce wares to highly exacting standards whilst also exploring new shapes and designs. Tang Ying's signature appears on very few inscribed Imperial porcelains, see Geng Baochang, 'Tan Tang Ying kuan de ciqi ji qita' (A discussion on Tang Ying marked porcelain), inJingdezhen taoci, Jingdezhen, 1982, no.2; and a further discussion by , 'Tang Ying (1682-1756): The Imperial Factory Superintendent at Jingdezhen', inTransactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol.63, 1998-1999, p.65. However, no other porcelain that bears an incised and gilt Tang Ying mark appears to be recorded.A vase of related form but without the moulded design, covered in