China. The baluster body supported on a short foot and rising to a waisted neck with a tall straight rim. Finely decorated in bright enamels to depict Zhuge Liang standing next to a bannerman, watching a young archer instructed by Liu Bei to take aim at a halberd placed beneath a prunus tree, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are engaged in conversation, with Zhang Fei gesticulating dramatically and Guan Yu holding his spear.

The base with an iron-red four-character mark Qianlong nianzhi, surrounded by a coiled front-facing dragon, and of the period.

Inscriptions: The lower section of the vase with a circular seal, 'Guyue Xuan'.

Provenance: English trade.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, manufacturing flaws, and some rubbing to enamels.

Weight: 378.1 g
Dimensions: Height 15.2 cm

The shoulder of the vase is intricately decorated with four lobed panels enclosing floral sprays against a hexagonal-diapered ground, above a band of pendent ruyi-heads, the neck with two fan-shaped reserves depicting landscapes surrounded by lotus blossoms borne on scrolling vines.

Guyue xuan is the name of one of the halls within the Changchun Yuan (a series of Imperial gardens to the West of Beijing adjoining the Yuanming Yuan, known collectively as the Summer Palace). The Changchun Yuan was intended as a retirement home for the Qianlong Emperor, although he never took up full-time residence there. When the Guyue xuan was completed in 1767, the Emperor ordered a group of wares for that particular pavilion which appears to have been mostly in enamel on glass.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 October 2015, lot 3743
Estimate: HKD 250,000 or approx. EUR 34,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An enameled glass 'landscape' vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the similar form, the closely related enameled decoration with similar bands to the shoulder, the iron-red Qianlong seal mark and the size (13.5 cm).