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Lot Essay
Previously sold in Hong Kong, 16 May 1989, lot 299.
This vase appears to be unique. The pattern was inspired by earlier Yongzheng doucai bats bowls, see the pair from the Paul and Helen Bernat Collection sold in Hong Kong, 15 November 1988, lot 1. Bowls of this type are simpler in design, as evident in the way that the bats are picked out in iron-red with a minimal amount of shading, while the clouds are depicted each in a single colour. The present lot is technically much more complex, with the bats very finely shaded, the clouds defined in as many as five colours, with classic borders at the base, shoulder and lipped rim, the added use of gilt, and the final wash of turquoise enamel on the undecorated areas.
The decoration on the vase may be compared to that on covered jars of the period, such as that illustrated in Chinese Porcelain, The S. C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 115; and another from the Jingguantang Collection, included in the 1993 Min Chiu Society exhibition, Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, illustrated on the Catalogue cover, and no. 71, and sold in these Rooms, 27 April 1997, lot 748.
This vase appears to be unique. The pattern was inspired by earlier Yongzheng doucai bats bowls, see the pair from the Paul and Helen Bernat Collection sold in Hong Kong, 15 November 1988, lot 1. Bowls of this type are simpler in design, as evident in the way that the bats are picked out in iron-red with a minimal amount of shading, while the clouds are depicted each in a single colour. The present lot is technically much more complex, with the bats very finely shaded, the clouds defined in as many as five colours, with classic borders at the base, shoulder and lipped rim, the added use of gilt, and the final wash of turquoise enamel on the undecorated areas.
The decoration on the vase may be compared to that on covered jars of the period, such as that illustrated in Chinese Porcelain, The S. C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 115; and another from the Jingguantang Collection, included in the 1993 Min Chiu Society exhibition, Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, illustrated on the Catalogue cover, and no. 71, and sold in these Rooms, 27 April 1997, lot 748.