Lot 338 , A Chinese Imperial blue glazed ritual offering vessel (gui), moulded Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-95), 28.5cm wide

A Chinese Imperial blue glazed ritual offering vessel (gui), moulded Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-95), modelled on a bronze grain receptacle of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, of oblong form, moulded in low relief with bands of archaic motifs, flanked by a pair of elephant-head loop handles, 28.5cm wide
Estimate £400-600

This gui would have been part of an altar set used in state rituals held in the first lunar month of the year, during which the emperor made offerings to heaven at the Altar for Bountiful Harvest (Qigutan), part of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and would have comprised also a pair of dou, fu and xing-shaped vessels. Similarly-composed sets with archaistic designs would have been made in claire de lune, yellow and red glazes for ritual use in the Altars of the Moon, Earth and Sun, respectively. For a related set of the Qianlong period but in clair-de-lune glaze from the Palace Museum, Beijing, see E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, pp.125 and 396-397, pls.34-37, where it is noted that the archaistic shape of these sets was not designed until 1748, when the Qianlong emperor ordered the Grand Secretaries to consult classical texts when designing objects, and insisted that he approve their designs before manufacturing could begin. The objects were illustrated and described in the The Illustrated Regulations for Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Qing Dynasty (Huangchao liqi tushi).

Compare an identical vessel with cover in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1925, Accession Number: 25.143.1

Cover is lacking, there is an shallow 8mm x 8mm rim chip to one side, there is heavy scratching to the interior of the vessel and there is some occasional scratching and scuffing to the glaze on the exterior, there is an area of drizzled glaze below one of the handles.


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Sold for £2,400