QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Archaism as a major theme in the crafts of the Qing dynasty, is represented two-fold on the present lot. The fanghu shape is derived from early bronze wares of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, while the glaze is an imitation of the Southern Song dynasty Ge glaze. Compare the present vase with its Song prototype, a small Guan vase with canted corners in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, Kodansha Series, Japan, 1981, vol. 9, Japan, 1987, no. 960; and another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2005, lot 1513.

Compare also to a Qianlong fanghu-shaped Ge-type vase, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Japan, 1987, no. 960.