Page 318 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong April 2, 2019 Sotheby's

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A RARE GLASS WATERPOT 清雍正 半透明料水盂
MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG 《雍正年製》款
of compressed globular form surmounted by a gently
tapering rim, the countersunk base wheel-cut with a four-
character reign mark, the semi-translucent glass with faint
inclusions
7.5 cm, 2⅞ in.

HK$ 300,000-400,000
US$ 38,300-51,000

At the beginning of the Yongzheng period, the Imperial
glasshouses established in the 35th year of the Kangxi reign
(1696) were already producing high quality monochrome
vessels, the vast majority unmarked, and manufacture was
becoming increasingly systematic and skilled. In the 2nd
year of the Yongzheng reign (1724), the Emperor took an
active interest in the output of the Zaobanchu, proclaiming
that ‘from now on, whenever it is possible to put reign marks,
such marks should be inscribed on the items’.
Yongzheng reign-marked waterpots are rare, and only
a small number is preserved in museum and private
collections. For a yellow glass waterpot in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, slightly smaller than the current example,
and with a more pronounced foot, see Zhang Rong, Luster of
Autumn Water. Glass of the Qing Imperial Workshop, Beijing,
2005, cat. no. 14. For another Yongzheng reign-marked
transparent glass vessel, see the bottle vase in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, illustrated ibid., cat. no. 4.

Mark