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VARIOUS PROPERTIES

1256
A RARE CLAIR-DE-LUNE GU-SHAPED VASE

QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD
(1736-1795)
The spreading foot and central section are applied with four fanges while the trumpet-shaped neck is
left plain, and the vase is covered overall under an even soft sky-blue glaze. The foot ring has a dark brown
dressing.
11√ in. (27.3 cm.) high
$120,000-180,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection, Hong Kong.
The form of the present vase is based on the bronze ritual wine vessels known as gu from the Shang and
Zhou periods. The form enjoyed further popularity as the inspiration for Song-dynasty imperial wares,
including ceramics covered with Guan and Ge glazes, notable for their pale greyish-blue color and
distinctive crackle, often fnished on the foot with a brown dressing. The present vase refects this rich
history, in its conscious imitation of earlier forms and glazes.
Compare a pair of smaller (17.2 cm. high) Qianlong fanged gu-shaped vases with Ru-type glaze
illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes – The Zande Lou Collection, Shenzhen, 2005, no. 26, where the
author notes that according to records, Tang Ying was ordered by the Qianlong Emperor to fre some
fanged gu vases, based on drawings prepared by draftsmen in the Imperial Household Workshops. A
Qianlong-marked vase of similar form, but covered in a Guan-type glaze was sold at Christie’s New York,
17 March 2017, lot 1244.
清乾隆 天藍釉花觚 六字篆書款

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