A pair of large inlaid carved cinnabar lacquer 'da ji' double gourd hanging wall panels Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period

each panel finely carved in the form of a flattened double-gourd vase tied at the waist with a curling ribbon, secured by a central knot embellished with an inlaid lapis-lazuli "ring", the upper and lower lobes respectively inlaid in jade with the characters Da and Ji, encircled by sprigs of finger-citron, narcissus, lingzhi fungus, peach, peony, pomegranate, prunus and gooseberry sprouting green leaves, all reserved against a yellow floral diaper ground, enclosed within a border carved with bats flying amid cloud swirls, the reverse lacquered black, pierced through the neck with a pin to attach the gilt-bronze handle carved as a bat with lotus stems clamped in their mouths

Compare a carved red lacquer double-gourd wall vase with brass da ji, 'great luck', characters in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated in Edward Strange, Catalogue of Chinese Lacquer,  London, 1925, pl. 15 and 21.  See also a single red lacquer double gourd da ji wall panel sold in our New York rooms, 23rd March 2004, lot 501.