YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD

This bowl belongs to a small group of vessels painted in this unusual two-color palette in the Chinese taste which bear the Yongzheng reign mark. It appears that it was primarily Yongzheng period enamellers who took advantage of the 'combined green and black' technology to decorate wares for the court. According to J. Ayers in the Catalogue of the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1974, vol. IV, where a dish and a bowl are illustrated, nos. A 568 and A 569, the decoration was painted in black under a green glaze and then the surrounding ground was filled in with black. The palette continued to be used in the Qianlong period, as can be seen in a pear-shaped vase sold in our Hong Kong rooms 30 April - 2 May 1995, lot 66.