A Chinese blue and white 'lanca' stem cup

A Chinese blue and white 'lanca' stem cup, Qianlong seal mark and of the period, supported on a splayed hollow stem foot with flared mouth rim, the exterior painted in bright cobalt tones with eight lança characters surrounded by an undulating stem of lotus issuing large flower-heads and curled acanthus leaves, the underside with petal lappets above bands of halved florets divided by a raised rib picked out with arrowheads, the stem skirted by ruyi-heads suspending interlinked tassels, the interior with a stylized peony medallion within a double-line border repeated at the rim, the interior of the foot inscribed in underglaze blue with a horizontal six-character seal mark, 13.6cm high Provenance: By repute Reginald Muspratt-Williams (b. 1906) and by descentReginald (Tony) Muspratt-Williams joined the Border Regiment and was posted to the China, Peking, Tietsin and Hong Kong from 1927-29, as part of the Shanghai Defence Force. He then resigned from the Army and joined Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in Hong Kong for 5 years and learned to speak Mandarin. In 1934 he returned home to become the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon's private secretary, where he also learned to fly. During the Second World War he volunteered for the Auxiliary Air Force and became attached to Chinese forces in Burma as a pilot.清乾隆 大清乾隆年制款青花缠枝莲托梵文高足盌拍品来源：Reginald (Tony) Muspratt-Williams先生旧藏, 后由家族继承。其于1927至1929期间被派往中国并加入上海国防军队。后辞去了军队的职务，加入了香港的帝国化学工业公司（ICI）并且工作了五年，期间学会了说普通话。1934年,他回到英国,成为了汉密尔顿公爵的私人秘书，后在二战期间作为飞行员与缅甸的中国军队共同抗战。