YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARKS IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN DOUBLE CIRCLES AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

The crisp, bright-yellow enamel color, achieved by combining antimoniate of iron with tin oxide, first appeared on Chinese porcelain during the late Kangxi period, but reached perfection during the Yongzheng reign. Because of the difficulty in achieving an even tone of this bright yellow, cups and dishes of a small size are usually found. A pair of lemon-yellow dishes of the same size in the Tianminlou Collection is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain, vol. II, p. 216, nos. 140 and 141, and another pair from the Percival David Foundation, London, is illustrated by M. Medley in Catalogue of Ming and Ch’ing Monochrome in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1973, nos. B543 and B544. Also, see a pair from the YC Chen Collection that sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 1909.