YONGZHENG FOUR-CHARACTER YUZHI MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE SQUARE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

It is believed that Yongzheng yuzhi-marked bowls similar to the present bowl were made early in the Yongzheng reign, as they are very closely related to Kangxi yuzhi-marked bowls of the same pattern, such as the pair of bowls included in the Exhibition of Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1971, no. 71, and subsequently sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 20 March 1990, lot 566; again in The Imperial Sale, 27 April 1997, lot 53; and again 30 May 2006, lot 1258. This pattern is also seen on Yongzheng yuzhi-marked bowls of a somewhat different shape, such as the example of larger size (5.3 in.), with more everted rim, from the Reitlinger Collection, illustrated by S. Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1971, pl. XLV (1).