Jiaqing reign (1796-1820)
Of lantern form, called 'biqi' in Chinese, which means water chestnut, as the shape resembles that tuber, the slightly waisted neck and rolled rim above a slightly sloping shoulder, the vase shaped mock handles in relief, on a slightly flared foot rim, the underside of which is blackish-brown, the recessed base with a faintly visible impressed six-character Jiaqing seal mark, the opaque turquoise-blue glaze suffused overall with a finely mottled dark purplish blue.
H. 9 1/4 in.
Note: The Robin's egg blue glaze was developed in the early 18th century in Jingdezhen, probably in the Yongzheng period (1723-35), called 'lu Jun' or 'furnace Jun' in China, suggesting that the works were inspired by the Jun glazes of the Song Dynasty. It was fired in a furnace at a lower temperature than the porcelain itself. It is a bi-color glazing technique, the blue glaze was applied first all over and the turquoise was blown on to produce a delicate strippled effect. The Taocheng jishi bei (Commemorative Stele on Ceramic Production) lists the ?robin?s egg?-blue glaze as the first of nineteen most popular glazes from the Imperial factory in 1735.
Provenance: According to Skinner's Asian Works of Art Department, this vase was consigned by the heirs to a collector from an "old New York family".
Note: A similar vase with Jiaqing mark was sold at Sotheby's, New York, March 24, 2018, lot 1544, for $20,000 including BP; and another similar vase with Jiaqing mark was sold at Christie's, New York, September 12, 2019 lot 1128, for $35,000, including BP and a vase with six-character Qianlong mark was sold at Christie's. New York, March 21, 2018, lot 606, for $137,500, including BP.