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Lot Essay
The playful design of bats and clouds decorating this vase is interpreted by J. Stuart in Joined Colors - Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Washington, D.C. 1993, pl. 97, as meaning "vast happiness piled up to the sky." The author further explains, "The symbol of a red bat is combined with colored clouds that represent the upper limits of heaven (hongfu qitian). The clouds also form a pun, since the word 'cloud' (yun) sounds like another word for 'luck'.
The design was particularly popular during the Guangxu period, and can be found decorating vessels of various forms. A similar bottle vase in the Nanjing Museum, Jiangsu province, is illustrated in China's Jingdezhen Porcelain through the Ages, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1998, p. 357. See, also, the similar Guangxu-marked vase sold at Christie's London, 6 November 2012, lot 262.
The design was particularly popular during the Guangxu period, and can be found decorating vessels of various forms. A similar bottle vase in the Nanjing Museum, Jiangsu province, is illustrated in China's Jingdezhen Porcelain through the Ages, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1998, p. 357. See, also, the similar Guangxu-marked vase sold at Christie's London, 6 November 2012, lot 262.