QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Large-sized doucai vessels with this decorative theme bearing a Qianlong reign mark are extremely rare. One related example is known – a large Qianlong-marked yuhuchunping (84 cm.) decorated in the doucai palette with a dragon and a phoenix amidst Indian lotus scrolls, in the Musée Guimet Collection, illustrated in Alexandre Hougron, La Céramique chinoise ancienne, Paris, 2015, p. 234. Compare also to a smaller bottle vase (63.5 cm.) with similar motifs, bearing an apocryphal Jiajing mark, from the Sui Yuan Zhai Collection and sold at Christie’s London, 11 May 2015, lot 32; and another unmarked doucai bottle vase (64.1 cm.) decorated with a pair of phoenix amidst peonies, sold at Christie’s New York, 13 September 2012, lot 1515.

An unmarked doucai meiping decorated with a dragon and phoenix amongst peonies, dating to the Yongzheng period, from Yamanaka & Company Inc., New York, was sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 345.