A Rare Small Relief-Decorated Celadon-Glazed Jar. Qianlong seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The high-shouldered, tapering body has a short, upright neck and is decorated in low relief with leafy chrysanthemum scroll bearing four blossoms shown full face. The jar is covered inside and out, and on the base, with a soft, pale blue-green glaze that thins on the raised decoration. 3 in. (7.6 cm.) high - Estimate $20,000 - $30,000

清乾隆　　　粉青釉刻纏枝菊紋小罐　　　　六字篆書款

Provenance: Private collection, United States, late 19th/early 20th century, and thence by descent within the family. 

Notes: A pair of similar Qianlong-marked jars, with covers, in the Percival David Foundation, is illustrated by S. Pierson and A. Barnes in A Collector's Vision: Ceramics for the Qianlong Emperor, London, 2002, p. 106, no. 93. A single example, with cover, is illustrated by J. Thompson in The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, no. 69. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part II, 13 September 2012. New York, Rockefeller Plaza