Lot 849. A rare Guan-type bombé censer, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1735); 5 ¼ in. (13.3 cm.) wide across handles. Estimate USD 40,000 - USD 60,000. Price realised USD 106,250. © Christie's Image Ltd 2020.

With compressed body flanked by a pair of lug handles and raised on a splayed foot, covered overall with a bluish-grey glaze suffused with a golden crackle, the foot covered with a dark brown dressing.

Provenance: The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago, acquired prior to 1958.

Note: Yongzheng-marked censers of this elegant form are very rare. A Yongzheng robin’s egg-glazed example with an incised seal mark from the Zande Lou Collection, is illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes: The Zande Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, pp. 78-79, no. 22. Another Yongzheng robin’s egg-glazed example was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 2950. A Qianlong Ru-type censer of similar form and size in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Qingdai danseyou ciqi tezhan (A Special Exhibition of Qing Monochrome Glazed Porcelain), Taipei, 1981, no. 87.