CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, MARQUE A QUATRE CARACTERES INCISEE ET EPOQUE QIANLONG (1736-1795)

Compare to a similar small vase in the Pierre Uldry Collection, also inscribed with an additional character, Shou, illustrated by Brinker and Lutz in Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, pl. 285. The authors note that the additional inscription seen on some Qing cloisonné enamel pieces may appear as a single number between one and five or as an obscure character defining the vessel's usage and category, op. cit., p. 74. The extra character is also seen on some imperial glass wares and believed by some scholars to be a serial number from the Chinese classic Qianziwen, 'The One Thousand Word Essay', with a strong connection to the Imperial Workshops (refer to Elegance and Radiance, Grandeur in Qing Glass, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000, p. 312).