YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

Archaism was popular in the ceramics made for the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors, and often great efforts were made to copy glazes, forms and decoration from earlier periods. In this example, the Qing potters found inspiration in the exquisite, subtle doucai enamels of the Chenghua period, such as the jar and cover of very similar design illustrated in A Legacy of Chenghua: Imperial Porcelain of the Chenghua Reign Excavated from Zhushan, Jingdezhen, The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 311, no. C111. A virtually identical Yongzheng-marked jar, with a cover of different design, in the Qing Court collection, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 233, no. 214. (Fig. 1)