QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER WHEEL-CUT MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Bell-shaped or mallet-shape vases have a long history in China. The Kangxi version of the shape, with slightly waisted neck and body, is often called yaoling zun or 'hand bell vase' in Chinese. This is a reference to bronze bells, which formed part of the repertoire of Chinese instruments used in formal secular and religious music. Glass vases of this mallet shape were popular during the Qianlong period, and produced at the Palace Workshops in a variety of colors and sizes. For example, see the small, ‘realgar’ glass example with Qianlong mark sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 December 2021, lot 2993, and a blue-glass mallet vase of similar size to the present vase, also Qianlong mark and period, illustrated in Elegance and Radiance, Grandeur in Glass, The Andrew K. Lee Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 159, no. 42. A similar example to the present vase from the collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth is illustrated by C. Brown and D. Rabiner in Clear as Crystal, Red as Flame, Later Chinese Glass, New York, 1990, p. 71, no. 35.

There is a long history in China of making objects and vessels in imitation of other materials, and the Qianlong emperor was very fond of this play on materials. In the instance of the present vase, the opaque, soft-green tone was likely produced in imitation of a celadon glaze, and glass vessels of various shapes created during the Qianlong period can be found. A very large and rare ‘celadon’ glass baluster vase, Qianlong incised mark and period, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 2497. An ‘olive’-form example from the collection of Charlotte C. and John C. Weber, and a zhadou-form vase from the Peabody Essex Museum, were both included illustrated in C. Brown and D. Rabiner in Clear as Crystal, Red as Flame, Later Chinese Glass, New York, 1990, pp. 72-73, nos. 36-37 respectively.