A flambé-glazed 'pomegranate' lobed vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 窰變釉石榴尊 《大清乾隆年製》款

The pomegranate-inspired hexalobed form with an everted mouth is an innovation of the Qianlong period. A closely related example is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. 2, Taipei, 1981, pl. 75; one in the Capital Museum, Beijing, is published in Xiong Liao, Beauty of Ceramics. The Gems of Official Kilns, Taipei, 1993, pl. 148l and another is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection Geneva, Chinese Ceramics, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pl. A291.