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Lot Essay
The completion of the Guyue xuan in 1767 for the Qianlong Emperor prompted him to order a series of enamel-on-glass wares, which apparently involved not only the established enamellers at the Palace workshops, but also a new group of enamellers co-opted by the Court. The entire group is discussed by Moss in "Mysteries of the Ancient Moon," JICSBS, Spring 2006, pp. 16-33. As represented here, the bottles of this group are all obviously Imperial, often bearing inscriptions attesting to their being made for the Emperor, with one designated as having been made in the Inner Court (another name for an area of the Forbidden City [Moss, Mysteries of the Ancient Moon," p. 18, fig. 5, top]). Moss suggests that they were made to be presented as gifts or prizes, perhaps at the annual hunt to the north of the Great Wall.
The experimental nature typical of this rare, small group of wares is explained by Moss in the above-mentioned article, and is apparent not only in the simple palette and occasional firing problems, but also in the unusual and varied use of Imperial designations. This bottle has a rather oddly arranged, four-character Qianlong reign mark incorporated into the pattern on the shoulder, and above that, around the neck, a precise date, repeating the Qianlong reign title, while the foot is inscribed with the standard, regular-script Guyue xuan hallmark. This intriguing bottle may well be one of the clues to understanding the early evolution of the Guyue xuan wares for the Court. It is also one example from the group which has sustained very little wear from use.
The experimental nature typical of this rare, small group of wares is explained by Moss in the above-mentioned article, and is apparent not only in the simple palette and occasional firing problems, but also in the unusual and varied use of Imperial designations. This bottle has a rather oddly arranged, four-character Qianlong reign mark incorporated into the pattern on the shoulder, and above that, around the neck, a precise date, repeating the Qianlong reign title, while the foot is inscribed with the standard, regular-script Guyue xuan hallmark. This intriguing bottle may well be one of the clues to understanding the early evolution of the Guyue xuan wares for the Court. It is also one example from the group which has sustained very little wear from use.