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

This rare vase, with its combination of ancient bronze shape and blue and white decoration inspired by that of early fifteenth-century wares, is very similar to the Yongzheng-marked vase in the Wang Xing Lou Collection illustrated in Imperial Perfection: The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors, Hong Kong, 2004, pp. 40-1, no. 7. A Qianlong-marked example, however, was sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 26 October 2003, lot 143. The same shape can be seen on a vase of comparable size, with Yongzheng seal mark, covered with a Ru-type glaze, illustrated in Qingdai Yuyao Ciqi, Beijing, 2005, vol. I, part II, pp. 260-1, no. 116. Like the two blue and white vases, this latter vase, with its combination of the archaic bronze shape with a glaze imitating a Song dynasty Ru glaze, typifies the reference to earlier periods seen on Qing Imperial pieces.