QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Advances in technology and experimentation at the Imperial kilns during the 18th century led to the introduction of various new intriguing monochrome glazes. The 'robin's-egg' glaze is generally thought to have been developed as a free interpretation of Song dynasty Jun glazes and reflects the contemporary interest in producing glazes that were both attractive in color but also innovative in their use of texture. The extraordinary effect of the robin's-egg glaze is achieved with the use of copper and arsenic as an opacifier to create an opaque stippled turquoise glaze.

For a smaller (12.6 cm.) robin's egg-glazed hu-form vase with elephant-head loop handles dated to the Qianlong period in the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, University of Durham, see I.L. Legaza, A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Malcolm Macdonald Collection of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1972, pl. XCIII, no. 257, listed p. 52. An example of similar proportions but of slightly larger size (32.5 cm.) was sold at Sotheby’s London, 15 May 2013, lot 246, and another of similar size (30.8 cm.) from a Japanese private collection was sold at Marchant II – Qing Imperial Porcelain, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 April 2022, lot 3519.