Maljakko - Posliini - Kiina (Ei pohjahintaa)

This is an extremely rare work by Giuseppe Castiglione. Besides the inscription "Made in the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty," the bottom of this lot also includes the characters "臣(郎世寧)" (your subject, Giuseppe Castiglione). The lot is titled "Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period (1711–1799) Celadon Glazed Vase with Gilt Phoenix and Bird Design." Giuseppe Castiglione (July 19, 1688 – July 16, 1766), born Giuseppe Castiglione, was an Italian Jesuit monk, painter, and architect from Milan. He joined the Jesuits in 1707 and traveled from Portugal to Asia in 1714. He arrived in China via Macau in 1715 and entered the Qing court in Beijing. He served under three emperors—Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong—for over fifty years until his death in Beijing in 1766. In the inner court, Giuseppe Castiglione mainly engaged in portraiture, historical paintings, animal paintings, flower and bird paintings, and tribute paintings. He also participated in the design of palace decorations, perspective paintings, the Western-style buildings of the Yuanmingyuan, and copperplate engravings of battle scenes.