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Lot Essay
The present bowl exemplifies one of the rarest and most ingenious design concepts in imperial porcelain of the Yongzheng period. The exterior is decorated with five perfectly circular medallions—remarkably executed without borders—composed of a harmonious interplay of unrelated forms: sinuous branches, curled foliage, petalled blossoms, and the outstretched wings of bats. The medallions merge into a visual rhythm that is both spontaneous and deliberate, demonstrating the exceptional design sensibility cultivated in the Yongzheng imperial kilns. This innovative approach to design is comparable to that seen on the so-called "butterfly bowls" of the same period, where natural motifs of butterflies and flowers are similarly integrated into balanced circular compositions. For a Yongzheng "butterfly" medallion bowl of this type, see Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Ceramics from Collections in the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong, 1993, no. 41, which was later sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 April 2000, lot 588.
Only one other Yongzheng-marked bowl of this design, which is likely the pair to the present bowl, appears to be recorded. This bowl was formerly in the Hippisley Collection and later in the celebrated R. H. R. Palmer Collection and Meiyintang Collection. It is illustrated in A Sketch of the History of Ceramic Art in China, with a Catalogue of the Hippisley Collection of Chinese Porcelains, Washington, D.C., 1902, no. 96, and again by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, London, 2010, no. 1755. This example was subsequently sold at The Meiyintang Collection, Part IV; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2012, lot 32.
The pairing of peaches and bats is a highly auspicious motif in Chinese decorative arts. The bat (fu 蝠) is a homophone for "blessing" or "good fortune" (fu 福), while the peach (tao 桃) is traditionally associated with longevity. When depicted together, they convey the auspicious phrase fu shou shuang quan (福壽雙全), or "may both blessings and longevity be yours in abundance." Although the peach-and-bat theme—often rendered with a combination of white and pink-blossomed peach trees—was a popular motif during the Yongzheng reign, especially in overall designs on dishes, bowls, and vases, the present medallion composition is exceedingly rare.
Only one other Yongzheng-marked bowl of this design, which is likely the pair to the present bowl, appears to be recorded. This bowl was formerly in the Hippisley Collection and later in the celebrated R. H. R. Palmer Collection and Meiyintang Collection. It is illustrated in A Sketch of the History of Ceramic Art in China, with a Catalogue of the Hippisley Collection of Chinese Porcelains, Washington, D.C., 1902, no. 96, and again by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, London, 2010, no. 1755. This example was subsequently sold at The Meiyintang Collection, Part IV; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2012, lot 32.
The pairing of peaches and bats is a highly auspicious motif in Chinese decorative arts. The bat (fu 蝠) is a homophone for "blessing" or "good fortune" (fu 福), while the peach (tao 桃) is traditionally associated with longevity. When depicted together, they convey the auspicious phrase fu shou shuang quan (福壽雙全), or "may both blessings and longevity be yours in abundance." Although the peach-and-bat theme—often rendered with a combination of white and pink-blossomed peach trees—was a popular motif during the Yongzheng reign, especially in overall designs on dishes, bowls, and vases, the present medallion composition is exceedingly rare.