A CHINESE ARCHAISTIC COBALT BLUE-GLAZED RITUAL VESSEL, GUI

A CHINESE ARCHAISTIC COBALT BLUE-GLAZED RITUAL VESSEL, GUI
SIX CHARACTER JIAQING MARK AND OF THE PERIOD 1796-1820

The oval bowl set with elephant loop side handles, the body and domed foot moulded with bands of scrolls and geometric borders, with a paper lot label for Sotheby's London, 17th November 1938, lot 173, 24.5cm.

Provenance: Field Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum (1850-1916), purchased by Viscountess Broome (1893-1896), Sotheby's London, 17th November 1938, lot 173, and thence by descent through the family.

This gui would have been part of an altar set used in state rituals held in the first lunar month of the year, during which the Emperor made offerings to heaven at the Altar for Bountiful Harvest (Qigutan), part of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and would have comprised also a pair of dou, fu and xing-shaped vessels. Similarly composed sets with archaistic designs would have been made in clair de lune, yellow and red glazes for ritual use in the Altars of the Moon, Earth and Sun, respectively.

清嘉慶 霽藍釉簋
《大清嘉慶年製》篆書款
來源：霍雷肖•赫伯特•基奇納元帥（1850-1916），由布魯姆子爵夫人（1893-1896）從倫敦蘇富比1938年11月17日（編號173）購回，之後由家族繼承。