A covered he of this pattern also with a Qianlong seal mark is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain, The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, pl. 64. Ko discusses in Part II, p. 92, that this form is derived from a Zhou rather than a Shang dynasty archaic bronze prototype and is one of the vessels 'reproduced after bronze prototype to satisfy the nostalgia in courtly circles for ancient objects' in the Qing dynasty and used 'for decoration rather than practical purposes'. Cf. other examples, one in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, included in the Special Exhibition of K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung Wares, 1986, Catalogue no. 71; and another in the Kau Chi Society Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong, 1981, Catalogue no. 118.

(US$9,000-12,000)