A fine 'ge'-type bottle vase seal mark and period of Qianlong

well potted, the compressed globular body supported by a straight foot and rising smoothly to a straight cylindrical neck, covered overall with a thick creamy-grey glaze suffused with an irregular network of black crackling and golden threads, the glaze stopping neatly at the footring, the base inscribed with the six-character seal mark in underglaze-blue   

'Ge'-type vases of this shape are rare.  The form dating back to the Han dynasty, was revived in the Song - Yuan Dynasty and the Yongzheng period kilns began to produce this form in this particular Ge type glaze.  See a very similar Qianlong example in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics, London, 1996, pl. 524. Other related vases include a similar form vase with a slightly flared neck and one of similar form with a Guan type glaze, both from the Zande Lou Collection, illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes:  The Zande Lou Collection, Shanghai Museum, 2005, cat. nos. 28 and 33. 

Jingdezhen began copying prized Song dynasty 'Guan,' Ru' and 'Ge' glazes from as early as the Ming Dynasty.  These high-fired glazes were particularly popular in the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods.  The pieces were not strictly adhering to Song styles and often it is not clear whether Guan, Ru  or Ge meant to be evoked.  However, it does suggest the Emperor's deep appreciation and respect for the past, together with the want for its preservation.