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The present vase is exceedingly rare and no other example from the The vase, although based on earlier prototypes in form, glaze and
Qianlong reign appears to have been published. A tour-de-force of decoration, is a direct continuation of the previous Yongzheng reign;
craftsmanship, it is an exceptional example of the technical zenith see a celadon glazed ‘Eight Trigrams’ moonflask, Yongzheng seal mark
achieved by potters working at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen during and of the period, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected
the celebrated Qianlong period. The imposing size and rare glaze by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum: The Chinaware Volume, vol.
would have presented multiple challenges: the first of balancing the II, Liaoyang, 2008, p.61; and see also an ‘Eight Trigrams’ ge-type
weight of the porcelain; the second, of successfully imitating the prized moonflask, Yongzheng seal mark and of the period, in the National
Northern Song dynasty Imperial Ru glaze with its bluish tinge and fine Palace Museum, Taipei, Museum no.ZC003964N.
craquelure. Both would have been affected by the kiln temperature and
control of its firing conditions, requiring the most exacting standards to The Daoist design of the present vase is a manifestation of the
accomplish this ambitious feat. previous Yongzheng Emperor’s known attraction to Daoist longevity
practices, which included indulging in consumption of lead-based
In form, the impressive moonflask is inspired by an early Ming dynasty ‘elixirs of life’. The Imperial Court provided patronage to the White
design, which in turn drew on an Islamic metal prototype; see Cloud Monastery in Beijing, and elaborate Daoist celebrations were
J.A.Pope, ‘An Early Ming Porcelain in Muslim Style’, in R.Ettinghausen, also regularly staged around the Qianlong Emperor’s birthdays.
ed., Aus der Welt der Islamischen Kunst, Festschrift für Ernst Kühnel, The grandest of Daoist rituals, the jiao rite of communal renewal,
Berlin, 1959, pp.357-375. In glaze, the flask imitates the rarest of the also received Imperial support. However, the Yongzheng Emperor’s
‘Five Great Wares’ of the Song dynasty, the Ru glaze, used on wares immersion in Daoist practices was an exception, as most of the Qing
made for the Imperial Court during the Northern Song dynasty. In Emperors followed Buddhism alongside Confucian rituals of the state;
design, the Eight Trigrams, bagua, introduces a religious dimension of see P.Berger, ‘Religion’, in E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The
Daoism, whereby the trigrams - Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen Three Emperors 1662 - 1795, London, 2005, pp.132-133.
and Dui, which stand for heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire,
mountain and marsh respectively - provided the means of assessing Compare with a related Ru-type archaistic hexagonal vase, hu,
the present state of the world and a basis for decision-making for the Qianlong seal mark and period, which was sold at Sotheby’s New
future; both of great bearing to the Emperor. York, 23 March 2011, lot 736. See also a related Ru-type glazed vase,
cong, Qianlong seal mark and period, which was sold at Christie’s
Hong Kong, 3 June 2015, lot 3108.

Image courtesy of the Shenyang
Palace Museum

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