Lot 4116. A rare imperial opaque yellow glass vase, Qianlong incised four-character mark within double-squares and of the period (1736-1795), 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 200,000. Price realised HKD 162,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Of slender 'olive' shape. The sides flaring slightly at the mouth and tapering downwards to the foot ring. The material of lemon-yellow tone, box.

Note: Two related Qianlong-marked turquoise vases of this form, without the slightly flared mouth, are published. The first is illustrated in Elegance and Radiance, Grandeur in Qing Glass: The Andrew K. F. Lee Collection, The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000, pp. 170-1, no. 48; and the other is in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, illustrated by Zhang Rong, Lustre of Autumn Water, Glass of the Qing Imperial Workshop, Forbidden City Publishing House, 2005, p. 155, no. 24, it is noted that the shape resembles that of a weaving spindle. This elegant form was inspired by ceramics of the earlier Yongzheng period. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall