Ruby Red-glazed Vase

In the period from 1705 to 1712, during the Kangxi reign, Lang Tingji, the Governor of Jiangsi, was ordered to go to Jingdezhen kilns factory and manage the firing of ceramics at the imperial kiln works. Among the porcelains produced there was a red-glazed vessel in imitation of one that goes back to the Xuande reign (1426-1435) in the Ming dynasty. Its strikingly beautiful color is especially attractive. Since Lang Tingji oversaw the production of ceramics there, it became known as Lang-ware Red. The shape of this vessel is similar to the purification vase seen held in the hand of the Buddhist figure Guanyin, which is why it is also known as a Guanyi tsun-vase. The irregular shedding of the glaze at the mouth here is typical of the style of Lang-ware red.