Lot 152. A Good 'Robins-Egg' Tripod Censer, Qianlong Seal Mark and Period (1736-1795); 18cm., 7 1/8 in. Estimate 15,000 — 25,000 GBP. Lot sold 28,750 GBP. Photo courtesy Sotheby's 2008

the body of compressed globular form with broad mouth and everted rim set with a pair of loop handles, all supported on three short conical feet and covered overall with a rich mottled turquoise and blue glaze. 

Note: It is extremely rare to find 'robin's egg' censors of this form with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, and no other example appears to have been published. See related examples attributed to the same period, but without a reign mark, such as the vessel in the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 925; one sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 22^nd November 1985, lot 419; another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26^th April 1998, lot 505; and a fourth example sold at Christie's New York, 2^nd December 1986. Compare also a censer of this type and form with a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28^th November 1978, lot 156.

'Robin's egg' glaze was used from the Yongzheng period until the 19^th century, and only some of the finest pieces bear a Yongzheng or Qianlong reign mark.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 05 Nov 08. London