69. RÉCIPIENT EN PORCELAINE À GLAÇURE JAUNE MONOCHROME, GUI Marque et époque Guangxu (1875-1908) A YELLOW-GLAZED ARCHAISTIC RITUAL FOOD VESSEL, GUI Guangxu mark and of the period Inspired by the archaic bronze type, the vessel of oblong form with a pair of loop handles surmounted by dragon heads, molded in relief with various bands of archaistic motifs, all covered with a rich mustard-yellow glaze, the base with incised Guangxu six-character mark. 29cm (11 3/8in) wide across the handles. 清光緒 黃釉仿古紋龍耳簋 「大清光緒年製」楷書刻款  Vessels such as this archaistic vessel, gui, would have been part of a ritual altar set made for the Altar of Earth 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 claire-de-lune, blue and red for ritual use in the Altars of the Moon, Heaven and Sun, respectively. For a related set of Qianlong date with a clair-de-lune glaze from the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Evelyn S. Rawski and Jessica Rawson, China: The Three Emperors, 1662- 1795, London, 2005, pp.125 and 396-397, pls.34-37. For a similar gui and cover in cobalt glaze with impressed six-character Guangxu mark on the base, illustrated in Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1983, no.144. See also the yellow glazed gui and cover identical to this lot sold in Christie's New York, 22-23 March 2012, lot 2109.