QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Compare to a ruby-ground jue cup and stand of similar design, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 121, no. 105 (fig. 1). According to the Qing court archives, in the eighth year of the Qianlong period (1743), the imperial kilns were ordered to produce two yangcai yellow-ground jue stands with 'brocade overlaid with flowers' and 'Unification of the Empire' decoration, as well as two yangcai red-ground jue cups and stands of the same design. Yellow-ground jue stands of this type are exceptionally rare and are characterised by their extraordinarily fine workmanship.