范制匏器是清代宫廷独有的小众特种工艺，也叫 “葫芦器”，六棱瓶则是这类器物中的精品。它并非以陶瓷、玉石或金属为料，而是在葫芦生长过程中，将其置于特制的六棱木范之中，待葫芦成熟后便会长出与范模完全契合的造型与纹饰，无需额外雕琢。成品匏器皮色温润古朴，纹理清晰自然，瓶身常模印出回纹、莲瓣纹与吉祥文字，自带天然质朴的质感，是清代宫廷 “天人合一” 造物理念的典型体现。
Molded gourd ware is a unique niche special craft of the Qing Dynasty imperial court, also known as “gourd vessels”, and the hexagonal vase is a fine piece among such artifacts. It is not made of porcelain, jade or metal. Instead, during the growth process of the gourd, it is placed in a special hexagonal wooden mold. When the gourd matures, it will grow into a shape and pattern perfectly matching the mold, without additional carving. The finished gourd ware has warm and simple skin color, clear and natural texture. The vase body is often molded with key fret patterns, lotus petal patterns and auspicious characters, with inherent natural simple texture, representing the typical embodiment of the “harmony between man and nature” creation concept of the Qing Dynasty imperial court.
这类范制匏器专为清代宫廷御用，由内务府造办处统一管理范制，民间极少有能力仿制，存世数量远少于瓷器、玉器等常见宫廷器物。由于葫芦质地轻薄易损，且易受虫蛀与潮湿侵蚀，完整保存至今的清代宫廷范制匏器数量极为稀少，六棱瓶这类规整造型的精品更是罕见。目前它们大多收藏于故宫与少数地方博物馆的库房中，极少对外展出，公众对这类天然成型的宫廷器物了解极少，是清代文玩文物中十分冷门的门类。
Such molded gourd wares were exclusively for the use of the Qing Dynasty imperial court, and the molding was uniformly managed by the Imperial Household Department’s workshop. Few folks had the ability to imitate them, and the surviving quantity is far less than common court artifacts such as porcelain and jade. Due to the light and fragile texture of gourds, and their susceptibility to moth damage and humid erosion, very few Qing Dynasty imperial molded gourd wares have been completely preserved to this day, and fine pieces with regular shapes like hexagonal vases are even rarer. At present, most of them are collected in the warehouses of the Palace Museum and a few local museums, and rarely exhibited to the public. The public has very little knowledge of such naturally formed imperial artifacts, making it a very obscure category of Qing Dynasty literary and recreational cultural relics.