Complex square gu vases are difficult to make and often distort during high temperature firing, unless fired under well-controlled conditions as in modern ovens/kilns. This pair late Qianlong (ca. 1780-1795 AD) Gu vases’ structure is complicated, with many vertical sections and each section being separated by a horizontally extending flange. With a very fine clay body that is softer than coarser clays, buckling is almost unavoidable. At high temperature, the clay body is a semisolid, like butter at room temperature. During cooling down, the size shrinks by about 25%. Softer clays may shrink unevenly leading to buckling that can be seen upon careful examination. Otherwise, these vases are very well molded, carved, and delicately decorated. Four medallions on the 4 protruding facets of the waist depict Bo Gu pattern (???) that were popular during Kangxi, decades earlier. The glaze has lost the surface shine of newly fired porcelain, due to 250 years of aging. From Dr. Robert I-San Lin (#1588), a senior Chinese artwork appraiser, whose grandfather was a major Chinese antique merchant in early 1900s. (Dr. Lin’s bio, in Journal of Authentication of Artworks, 2015, available). Brought to California in 1960s. H. 22.5, each side 8.7 cm; 672 grams.