YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

The soft blue glaze and bold form of the present vase can be related to monochrome, archaistic vases from the Yongzheng period: see, for example, a sky-blue-glazed zun-form vase illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15. Ch’ing Dynasty, Shogakukan edition, Tokyo, 1983, p. 201, no. 281. However the simple yet distinctive shape of the present vase, with its bulbous body and short, straight neck, appears to be very rare. Another rare example illustrated in Shimmering Colours: Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods, The Zhuyuetang Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, p. 148, no. 77.

A few similar vases have been offered at auction. One similar vase was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 16-17 January 1989, lot 803; another sold at Christie’s New York, 29 November 1990, lot 209; a third example sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 April 2002, lot 656; and another with a gilt rim sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29 October 1991, lot 73. A vase of similar form, but decorated with robin’s-egg glaze, from the collection of J. M. Hu, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29-30 October 1995, lot 740.