Page 321 - Christie's Chinese Works of Art March 24 and 25th, 2022 NYC

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
1212
A SUPERB AND VERY RARE GREEN GLASS MALLET VASE 私人珍藏
QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER WHEEL-CUT MARK AND OF THE 清乾隆 豆青綠玻璃搖鈴尊 雙方框四字楷書刻款
PERIOD (1736-1795)
The vase has a dome-shaped body and a tall, cylindrical neck rising to a lipped
rim. The glass is of an attractive bluish-green color.
8¿ in. (20.7 cm.) high
$50,000-70,000
Bell-shaped or mallet-shape vases have a long history in China. The
Kangxi version of the shape, with slightly waisted neck and body, is often
called yaoling zun or 'hand bell vase' in Chinese. This is a reference to bronze
bells, which formed part of the repertoire of Chinese instruments used in
formal secular and religious music. Glass vases of this mallet shape were
popular during the Qianlong period, and produced at the Palace Workshops
in a variety of colors and sizes. For example, see the small, ‘realgar’ glass
example with Qianlong mark sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 December
2021, lot 2993, and a blue-glass mallet vase of similar size to the present
vase, also Qianlong mark and period, illustrated in Elegance and Radiance,
Grandeur in Glass, The Andrew K. Lee Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 159,
no. 42. A similar example to the present vase from the collection of Robert
Hatfield Ellsworth is illustrated by C. Brown and D. Rabiner in Clear as
Crystal, Red as Flame, Later Chinese Glass, New York, 1990, p. 71, no. 35.

There is a long history in China of making objects and vessels in imitation
of other materials, and the Qianlong emperor was very fond of this play on
materials. In the instance of the present vase, the opaque, soft-green tone
was likely produced in imitation of a celadon glaze, and glass vessels of
various shapes created during the Qianlong period can be found. A very large
and rare ‘celadon’ glass baluster vase, Qianlong incised mark and period, was
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 2497. An ‘olive’-form example
from the collection of Charlotte C. and John C. Weber, and a zhadou-form
vase from the Peabody Essex Museum, were both included illustrated in C.
Brown and D. Rabiner in Clear as Crystal, Red as Flame, Later Chinese Glass,
New York, 1990, pp. 72-73, nos. 36-37 respectively.

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