Lot Essay
The mark on the base of the bottle is one of the highest levels of Imperial marks and ranks with yushang ('For Imperial appreciation'), yubao ('Imperial treasure' or 'to be treasured by the Emperor') and yuyong ('For Imperial use'). They all imply that the object was made for the Emperor's personal delight or use. As such, they rank above yuzhi ('by Imperial command') in the hierarchy of marks.
One factor which determined which individual objects bore certain types of reign marks was the level of direct Imperial involvement or interest. The simple and elegant style of this bottle would have appealed to the Qianlong Emperor, particularly within the context of his preference for jade carvings. He considered the development in arts and crafts around the country, and particularly at Suzhou, vulgar, trivial and over-decorated. His love of archaic bronzes and jades is well known, and the present bottle, with its plain loop and ring handles, brings to mind the simplest type of handle on Han bronzes.
The combination of the material, style, and mark, are all attributes not only of the Beijing Palace glassworks, but of the range of personal accoutrements of the Emperor.
One factor which determined which individual objects bore certain types of reign marks was the level of direct Imperial involvement or interest. The simple and elegant style of this bottle would have appealed to the Qianlong Emperor, particularly within the context of his preference for jade carvings. He considered the development in arts and crafts around the country, and particularly at Suzhou, vulgar, trivial and over-decorated. His love of archaic bronzes and jades is well known, and the present bottle, with its plain loop and ring handles, brings to mind the simplest type of handle on Han bronzes.
The combination of the material, style, and mark, are all attributes not only of the Beijing Palace glassworks, but of the range of personal accoutrements of the Emperor.