QIANLONG INCISED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

The present vase belongs to a group of imperial cloisonné enamel incense instruments that each bears an additional character, and in this instance zan, 'praise', under the reign mark. An indentical vase of this size and modelled with the same unusual protrusion on the lower neck from the Fryers Collection of Chinese Art, was sold at Christie's London, 15 May 2012, lot 7. The Fryers vase is inscribed with the additional character, chang, 'long'. A related vase in the Phoenix Art Museum, inscribed with duan, 'dignified', was included in the exhibition, Cloisonné, Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, 2011, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 291, no. 130.