A LARGE IMPERIAL BRONZE HEXAGONAL PHOENIX-HANDLED VASE AND STAND QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY |

of sturdily cast hexagonal section, the shouldered body sitting on a splayed foot and rising to a waisted neck flanked by a pair of stylised kui phoenix handles, the base with an apocryphal Xuande seal mark, the stand of conforming shape with short cabriole legs terminating in ruyi feet linked by a continuous stretcher

Christie's Hong Kong, 4th November 1996, lot 889.

This rare vase is impressive for its large yet elegant form, the sharp edges of which provide an attractive contrast with the curls of the kui-phoenix handles. Only one vase of this type is known, but cast in gilt-bronze and with a four-character mark reading Yutang qingwen ('For the pure pleasure of the jade hall'), was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st May 2000, lot 794, and again, 1st June 2011, lot 3953. Compare also a hexagonal cloisonné enamel vase flanked with qilin handles, sold at Christie’s Amsterdam, 28th April 1983, lot 394. As with many Yongzheng and Qianlong period wares, this vessel is a modern interpretation of an archaic bronze hu form.