Lot Essay
Butterflies are a symbol of happiness and also longevity. Similar Guangxu-marked vases are illustrated in Imperial Porcelain of late Qing from the Kwan Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Gallery, Hong Kong, 1983, p. 133, no. 140; by G. Avitabile, From the Dragons' Treasure: Chinese Porcelain from the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Weishaupt Collection, London, 1987, p. 91, no. 126; and by H. A. Van Oort, Chinese Porcelain of the 19th and 20th Centuries, the Netherlands, 1977, pl. 104. Compare, also, the vase sold at Christie's New York, 18-19 September 2014, lot 968.