Glass; of double-gourd shape encircled by fluting and surmounted by a slender upper bulb with a flared neck and wide mouth, the yellow of pale lemon tone, attributed to the Imperial glassworks, Beijing.

1720-1780

5.9cm

Provenance:
Robert Hall (1998)

The fluted decoration was first moulded and then sharpened with a knife to provide a dramatic contrast with the elegantly formed upper bulb. This tone of pale yellow was a favourite of the Yongzheng Emperor (1723-1735) with the majority of reign-marked glass items from this period being of this hue (six of the twelve Yongzheng-marked vessels illustrated in the Palace Museum exhibition of Imperial glass in 2010 are of this very pale colour, see Zhang Rong, Luster of Autumn Water, nos. 5, 8 and 11-14).