A Very Fine and Rare Chinese Blue Glazed Bottle Vase

Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Yongzheng period (1723-1735), bulbous body rising to thick straight neck glazed evenly in sapphire blue or Mazarin, underside with blue six character Yongzheng mark within two circles, with carved wooden stand.

14 in., with stand 15 1/2 in.

From the collection of Thomas English Cody (1889-1948), the great nephew of Buffalo Bill Cody, and by family descent.

The present vase is particularly rare and few examples from the Yongzheng period appear to have been published. The sacrificial blue glaze became popular from the early Ming period onward, when the Hongwu emperor decreed that ceramic wares should be used for official sacrifices at the Imperial altars, and blue was the prescribed color for ritual vessels at the Tiantan, the Temple of Heaven.

Good estate condition; star shaped crack to underside; a small break with loss to stand.