A rare famille rose Tibetan-style ewer, penba. Jiaqing seal mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams

The compressed globular body finely enamelled with the bajixiang, the Eight Buddhist Emblems, between a border of tri-lobed petals and lotus-petal panels, all reserved on a bright yellow ground, surmounted by the lobed neck simulating a chrysanthemum blossom colourfully decorated on the lobes with alternating pink, green, red and blue enamels, below floral scrolls on a pink ground, all below the galleried upper section with dense foliate floral scrolls on a yellow ground below the rim with colourful roundels on the turquoise ground and a gilt rim, the vase raised on a spreading foot with overlapping lappets reserved on a yellow ground, the vase turquoise enamelled. 25.5cm (10in) high - Sold for £121,250

Provenance: according to the owner, the vase is known to have been in the collection of her paternal Grandfather.

Vessels of this form, imitating Tibetan metalwork, were first made in the Qianlong period. They were intended either for use in the Lamaist temples in Beijing or as gifts for Tibetan lamas visiting the Imperial Court. For similar examples from the Qianlong period, see Studies of the Collections of the National Museum of China - Porcelain, Qing Period, Shanghai, 2007, no.94 and J.Thompson, The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, no.112

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 10 Nov 2011, New Bond Street www.bonhams.com