QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER CAST SEAL MARKS AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

These two bronze vessels are similar in shape and design to porcelain examples, such as the white-glazed vessel with cover, also with Qianlong mark, illustrated in Vivencias do Imperador, Museum of Art, Macao, 2002, no. ll:6, where it is described as a ritual food container for the use of the emperor. Similar porcelain vessels continued to be made during the Qing dynasty and include a Guangxu-marked, yellow-glazed porcelain example included in the exhibition, Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing from the Kwan Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1983, pl. 143, and subsequently sold at Christie's Singapore, 30 March 1997, lot 337. It is unusual to find vessels of this type in bronze rather than porcelain.