A PAIR OF FACETTED CELADON JARS AND COVERS MARKS AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

each of rectangular section with chamfered corners, the straight sides curving in towards a domed shoulder and straight neck, set on the shoulders with a pair of small, delicate loops vertically attached, surmounted by a flat cover with a similar loop knop, evenly covered overall in a translucent light blue-green glaze, inscribed to the recessed base with a three-column six-character reign mark

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th November 1996, lot 847.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1805.

One jar has a few minute filled flakes (1 x 2 mm, 1 x 2 mm, 3 x 1 mm, and 1 x 2 mm) to the inner mouth. It also has a 0.8 cm firing crack to the footring. The other jar has a shallow rim flake of 4 mm which has been filled, in addition to four smaller ones (two 3 mm and two 1 mm, all filled). The actual colour is quite close to the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This manner of rendering the Yongzheng reign mark is highly unusual and this style is not included, for example, in Geng Baochang's listing of reign marks (Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, p. 342). While the six-character mark arranged in three columns only appears with a circular surround or written in seal script, the rectangular mark is usually arranged in two columns.

A single Yongzheng jar of this elegant form and glaze colour is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 274, pl. 103; another single jar was sold in these rooms, 27th April 2003, lot 262, and again 5th October 2011, lot 1932. A related celadon-glazed jar and cover of Qianlong mark and period (AD 1736-95), closely following the present pair in shape, but the handles not pierced, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, see Qing Kang Yong Qian ming ci tezhan / Catalog of the Special Exhibition of K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the National Museum Palace [sic], National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 100.