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

Qianlong vases of cong form with Eight Trigrams motifs are usually covered with monochrome glazes such as sacrificial blue or celadon glazes. Examples decorated with colourful yangcai and gilt enamels like the current one are extremely rare, and undoubtedly made in significantly smaller quantities than their monochrome counterparts. Only one identical example of comparable decoration and size is known, possibly originally a pair to the current vase, sold at Christie’s New York, 28 March 1996, lot 413. Two other Qianlong examples with the same decorative scheme and form but on different colour grounds are published- a pair of turquoise-ground cong vases sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25 April 2004, lot 233; and a yellow-ground example in the Baur Collection, illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Vol. IV, Geneva, 1999, pl. A624.