QIANLONG JIACHEN CYCLICAL MARK, CORRESPONDING TO 1784 AND OF THE PERIOD

The production of covered jars bearing this inscription on the body is recorded by Geng Baochang, Mingqing Ciqi Jianding, Ming and Qing Porcelain on Inspection, Forbidden City Publishing, 1993, p. 395. The inscription suggests that the present jar was a special imperial commission, and was probably made for Buddhist ritual use. The characters Tian Zhu refers to Tian Zhu Guo, an ancient Chinese name for which India was known. The use of Tian Zhu in this instance is an ethereal reference to Buddhism with the two characters Enbo having a more complex meaning, referring to the omnipresence of Buddhism. Judging from the style of the calligraphy, it is possible that these four characters, Tianzhu Enbo, were copied onto ceramics by potters at the imperial kilns from calligraphy that had been previously written in the emperor's own hand.