AN EXTREMELY RARE AND EXQUISITE PAIR OF CLAIR-DE-LUNE-GLAZED BEAKER VASES, ZHI Qianlong incised seal marks and of the period (3)PROPERTY OF A LADY 女史藏品AN EXTREMELY RARE AND EXQUISITE PAIR OF CLAIR-DE-LUNE-GLAZED BEAKER VASES, ZHIQianlong incised seal marks and of the periodEach vase finely potted with a baluster body supported on a pedestal foot tapering towards the middle and rising to a flared trumpet mouth, the middle part incised with a band of leiwen between two raised bands, the body covered overall in an even pale bluish-celadon glaze, fitted box. 18cm (7 1/8in) high. (3).清乾隆 粉青釉觶式花插一對「大清乾隆年製」 篆書刻款Provenance:Frank Caro, successor to C.T. Loo, New York, 1960sDr. James D. Thornton CollectionChristie's Hong Kong, 29 November 2017, lot 2803Angela Chua collection, Hong KongExhibited:San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas, 1984-2017來源：古董商法蘭克．卡羅（Frank Caro），盧芹齋繼承人，紐約，1960年代詹姆斯．桑頓醫生（Dr. James D. Thornton）珍藏香港佳士得，2017年11月29日，拍品編號2803香港蔡劉木蘭女士收藏展覽：聖安東尼奧藝術博物館，美國德薩斯州，1984-2017年It is relatively common to find Ru-type or Guan-type glazed beakers for flower arrangement from the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, yet the soft, gentle clair-de-lune glaze on the present vase is one of the most admired Qing glazes. Developed during the Kangxi period, it was reserved exclusively for Imperial porcelains. The form of the pair of vases is also remarkably rare; these were likely to have been modelled after a Zhou dynasty archaic bronze wine vessel, zhi, in the Qing Imperial Court Collection or the Emperor Qianlong's own collection, illustrated in the Xiqing Gujian [Catalogue of Chinese ritual bronzes in the collection of the Qianlong Emperor], vol.26, p.15. The use of converted archaic bronze and bronze-inspired porcelain vases for flower arrangement in the Qing court allows us to appreciate the elegance and innovation in Imperial life during the Qing dynasty. See more examples in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Enchanting Splendor of Vases and Planters: A Special Exhibition of Flower Vessels from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 2014, nos.II-14-17.The form first appeared in porcelain during the Yongzheng reign, see for example, a closely related pair of Yongzheng mark and period clair-de-lune glazed vases formerly in the Collection of Asano Souichiro (1848-1930), illustrated in the catalogue of the collection dating to 1922, p.36. Compare, also, a pair of Qianlong-marked vases of the same form from the J. Insley Blair collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2115, which are covered with a pale celadon glaze. 侈口外翻，修身內收，頸部凸起一周內刻回紋一周，下腹略鼓垂，收腰，圈足外撇，足底陰刻「大清乾隆年製」 六字篆書款，通施粉青色釉，釉色純淨瑩潤，兩件皆然。清代以商周銅器為原型製作單色釉瓷器發軔於康熙朝，主要見於雍正朝，乾隆朝因襲之。如此對粉青釉觶花插，雍正朝便有製作，見日本淺野總一郎舊藏一對清雍正天藍釉觶式花插，與本對如出一轍，惟發色稍異，見《淺野氏藏中國名瓷圖錄》，約1922年，頁36。乾隆朝以雍正瓷器為範本繼續製作類似器物，如美國貝萊爾收藏一對極為類似之乾隆粉青釉觶式花插可資比較，後售於香港佳士得，2012年11月28日，拍品編號2115。此器之原型可参考清宮收藏之周代邢觶，本花插之器型乃至頸部一圈回紋及外撇圈足與其極似，見《西清古鑑》，乾隆二十年（1755年）內府刻版，卷26，頁15。觶為商代晚期流行至西周，越晚則身形越修長。《禮器》曰：「尊者舉觶。」《孔疏》云：「觶者，適也，飲當自適。」可知觶在禮器中之地位及功用。