YONGZHENG FOUR-CHARACTER INCISED SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

A vase of this rare shape and comparable size (14.5 cm. high), covered with a Ru-type glaze, and with a Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue rather than a four-character incised mark, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Qingdai Yugao Ciqi, vol. I, part 2, Beijing, 2005, pp. 322-23, no. 147. The form of these vases is based on 'arrow' vases, or touhu. The touhu was the primary accessory of a drinking game which involved throwing all of one's arrows into the mouth of the vase. The loser was assessed a penalty drink for every errant throw.