A 19th Century Qing Dynasty Sang de Boeuf Vase

A late 19th century late Qing Dynasty sang de boeuf vase of gourd form, having a soft crackled glaze throughout.

The name ‘sang de boeuf’ refers to the colour of the vase, which is French for ‘ox blood’. The difficult manufacturing process of this shade, which is achieved through an oxidisation process of iron and copper, was first recorded in China between the 11th and 13th century. European earthenware producers were not able to replicate the lengthily firing process involved in the production of sang de boeuf until the 20th century, leaving China to monopolise on such wares for centuries.

This gourd vase is of even proportion and interesting speckled pattern of varying tones of red.