Lot Essay
Only one similar example appears to have been recorded, one without a cover from the S. C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, illustrated in the Catalogue, vol. I, col. pl. 115. The seal marks for both the Ko jar and the present lot appear to have been written by the same hand.
The pattern appears to have been inspired by earlier Yongzheng mark and period doucai 'bats' bowls, such as the pair from the Paul and Helen Bernat collection sold in Hong Kong, 15 November 1988, lot 1 and again in these Rooms, 20 March 1990, lot 656; and another pair sold in these Rooms, 29 April 1996, lot 757. The bowls are simpler, however, the bats picked out in iron-red with an minimal amount of shading, the clouds each of a different colour. The present lot is technically much more complex, the trailing clouds defined in as many as five colours, with classic borders at the base, shoulder and neck, and the added use of gilt.
The pattern appears to have been inspired by earlier Yongzheng mark and period doucai 'bats' bowls, such as the pair from the Paul and Helen Bernat collection sold in Hong Kong, 15 November 1988, lot 1 and again in these Rooms, 20 March 1990, lot 656; and another pair sold in these Rooms, 29 April 1996, lot 757. The bowls are simpler, however, the bats picked out in iron-red with an minimal amount of shading, the clouds each of a different colour. The present lot is technically much more complex, the trailing clouds defined in as many as five colours, with classic borders at the base, shoulder and neck, and the added use of gilt.