A yellow overlay turquoise glass vase, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Unsold. Photo: Sotheby's

deeply carved through the bright yellow to an opaque turquoise ground, the globular body decorated with a continuous scene depicting a pheasant perched on a rocky boulder, the rockwork extending to slender branches issuing camellia, peony and narcissus blooms and their associate foliage, the leafy stems extending to the cylindrical neck, all resting on a slightly flared foot, the base with a four-character Qianlong mark within a double-square - 20.1 cm., 8 in.

Notes: The present vase is unusual for the combination of turquoise and overlay yellow which creates a striking contrasting effect.  It also belongs to the group of globular vases which are normally made in monochrome colours, and which are very rarely seen in overlay decoration.       

Compare a related glass vases with overlay in which the decoration extends from the body to neck, from the Alan Feen collection, illustrated in A Chorus of Colors. Chinese Art from Three American Collections, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 94. See also a pair of vases with the same unusual colour combination, but without the Qianlong mark, sold at Christie's London, 28th April 2003, lot 714.   

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art Hong Kong, 07 Oct 2015