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

The form of the present vase is derived from archaic jades of square form, known as cong. The form became popular for monochrome ceramic vases during the Qing dynasty. See, for example, a similar vase in the National Palace Museum illustrated in A Special Exhibition of Qing Monochrome Glaze Porcelain, Taipei, 1981, no. 55.