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Lot Essay
Double-gourd vases are also known as dajiping 'vase of good fortune', as the double gourd, or bottle gourd, symbolises fertility and good fortune. It is very rare to find double-gourd vases with original covers. Similar examples with covers are in public and private collections worldwide, including one in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo qingdai guanyao ciqi, Shanghai, 2003, p. 341; one included in the exhibition Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1992, p. 345, no. 212; one published in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 160; one from the Jingguantang Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3 November 1996, lot 571, and again 28 October 2002, lot 723; one sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3327; and one sold at Bonhams New York, 19 March 2018, lot 8047.
The present vase belongs to the Ehime Bunkakan Collection. Located beside the moat of Imabari castle where the Hisamatsu family, a branch of the Tokugawa shogunate, had resided since 1635 in present day Ehime prefecture, Ehime Bunkakan was established in 1955 by Ninomiya Kaneichi (1898 – 1996). Kaneichi was a successful businessman who made his fortune from forestry. When he was only eighteen years old, he had an important role in his father’s modest workshop of wood products. Kaneichi eventually took over the business and through skillful investments he introduced new machine tools and started a modern sawmilling factory. Using a keen business acumen, Kaneichi’s strenuously bought forest and mountains across Shikoku Island in the 1930s, sensing the dramatic change that would happen in society in the coming years when Japan would enter into a long period of war. His foresight was proven right, as after the war the demands of timber reached a height as cities were rebuilt. His contributions to his hometown of Imabari were particularly generous, where he was subsequently elected a city council member. After the war, Kaneichi grew concerned that traditional values and cultural relics had lost their importance in society and began to collect Chinese and Japanese antiques. Shortly after, he joined the Japanese Ceramics Society, and his knowledge became enriched by the top academics and long-standing antique dealers in the society, such as Mayuyama & Co., leading to enriching his collection with top quality works. His love of his hometown and his passion for art prompted him to open the Ehime Museum of Art, established to contribute to the cultural landscape of the local community.
The present vase belongs to the Ehime Bunkakan Collection. Located beside the moat of Imabari castle where the Hisamatsu family, a branch of the Tokugawa shogunate, had resided since 1635 in present day Ehime prefecture, Ehime Bunkakan was established in 1955 by Ninomiya Kaneichi (1898 – 1996). Kaneichi was a successful businessman who made his fortune from forestry. When he was only eighteen years old, he had an important role in his father’s modest workshop of wood products. Kaneichi eventually took over the business and through skillful investments he introduced new machine tools and started a modern sawmilling factory. Using a keen business acumen, Kaneichi’s strenuously bought forest and mountains across Shikoku Island in the 1930s, sensing the dramatic change that would happen in society in the coming years when Japan would enter into a long period of war. His foresight was proven right, as after the war the demands of timber reached a height as cities were rebuilt. His contributions to his hometown of Imabari were particularly generous, where he was subsequently elected a city council member. After the war, Kaneichi grew concerned that traditional values and cultural relics had lost their importance in society and began to collect Chinese and Japanese antiques. Shortly after, he joined the Japanese Ceramics Society, and his knowledge became enriched by the top academics and long-standing antique dealers in the society, such as Mayuyama & Co., leading to enriching his collection with top quality works. His love of his hometown and his passion for art prompted him to open the Ehime Museum of Art, established to contribute to the cultural landscape of the local community.