Page 16 - Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art II

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2157 (another view)
AN UNUSUAL SMALL CELADON-GLAZED BARREL-FORM INCENSE
STICK/FLOWER HOLDER
QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE
PERIOD (1736-1795)

The sides are applied with a pair of mask and ring handles between
two rows of bosses, and the fat top is pierced with seven circular
openings, all under a glaze of soft, greyish blue-green color that also
covers the base. The bottom of the foot is covered with a brown
dressing.
4¬ in. (11.8 cm.) high

$10,000-15,000

Vessels of this type, with a top pierced with circular apertures, could have
been used to hold either incense sticks or fowers. A similar example, of
larger size (16.9 cm.), bearing a Yongzheng seal mark, is illustrated in
Shimmering Colours: Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods, The
Zhuyuetang Collection, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong
Kong, 2005, p. 149, no. 78. The barrel shape and the celadon glaze of the
present and Zhuyuetang vessels are more usually found on jars of a size
similar to the Zhuyuetang holder, such as the Qianlong-marked jar from the
Robert Chang Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 16 October 2001, lot
390.

清乾隆 粉青釉鼓墩式香插/花插 六字篆書款