A LARGE IRON-RED AND UNDERGLAZE-BLUE `BAT' JARDINIERE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

of bat-shape with deep gently tapering sides rising from a flat pierced base to a broad everted rim, painted around the exterior with large iron-red bats amidst cobalt-blue ruyi-shaped clouds, all supported on six ruyi-shaped feet

See a large jardiniere standing on similar ruyi shaped feet and painted with bats, from the George Weishaupt collection illustrated in Gunhild Avitabile, From the Dragon's Treasure, London, 1987, pl. 104, together with a baluster vase painted with the motif of bats amonst swirling clouds, pl. 169.

The design of bats and clouds is a highly auspicious one with the wish for good fortune and luck. The Chinese words for bat (fu) and clouds (yun) are homophons for luck (fu) and fortune (yunqi).