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

The delicate glaze on the present vase is known in the west as ‘clair-de-lune’, and in Chinese as tianlan you (天藍釉), literally ‘sky blue glaze’, named for its soft and ethereal hue reminiscent of the clear sky after rain. This subtle tone, prized for its elegance and simplicity, was a technical innovation of the Jingdezhen imperial kilns during the Kangxi period (1662–1722), achieved through high-temperature firing and careful glaze formulation. Further refined during the Yongzheng period (1723-1735), clair-de-lune glaze achieved a greater level of sophistication. During the Qianlong period (1736-1795), it continued to be produced at the imperial kilns, its serene sky-blue color complementing the small, elegant vessel forms favored by the court.

The beautiful glaze is applied on an elegant pear-shaped body resting on three conical feet and surmounted by a tall, slender neck with a garlic-head mouth. Another Qianlong vase of this rare form, but of slightly smaller size (10 cm.) and covered in a celadon glaze is in the Meiyintang Collection and illustrated by Regina Krahl, in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, p. 201, no. 853.