A large blue and white Hexagonal Vase seal mark and period of Qianlong

of stretched hexagonal section, superbly painted in vibrant tones of underglaze-blue around the body with composite floral scrolls issuing lotus, camellia, lily and peony, the blooms wreathed by slender stems and a myriad of feathery leaves, repeated around the angled shoulders, the waisted neck encircled with a freize of crested waves, flanked by a pair of tubular handles each decorated with a stylised lotus bloom, the rim encircled by detatched foliate sprays beneath a keyfret band, the splayed foot with matching florets, the base inscribed with the six-character seal-mark in underglaze-blue

A similar Qianlong vase in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Special Exhibition of K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung Porcelain Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Taipei, 1986, cat.no. 68; another in the Capital Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Gems of the Official Kilns, Taipei, 1993, pl. 84; and a third example from the Yokogawa collection is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum. Chinese Ceramics, vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, cat.no.565.

Compare a closely related vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty. The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 238; one in the Jingdezhen Ceramics Museum published in Liu Liang-yu, Ch'ing Official and Popular Wares, Taipei, 1991, p. 154 left; and a third example sold recently in these rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 658.