A RARE BLUE AND WHITE DOUBLE-GOURD FLASK SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

finely potted and painted in vivid tones of cobalt blue simulating Ming dynasty 'heaping and piling,' the truncated lower bulb densely decorated with lotus scrolls, the shoulder draped with a band of pendant ruyi heads and detached floral sprigs, rising to a waisted neck with lappets collared by a raised ring of dots, surmounted by a garlic-mouth painted with lingzhi borne on scrolling foliage and linked by a pair of curved ruyi handles, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark

Christie's Hong Kong, 27th October 2003, lot 634.

Apart from a nearly imperceivable short 2mm hairline on the rim (just a little over to the left of one of the handles), the vase is in overall very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Finely decorated with elegant blooms, a closely related example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27^th April 1997, lot 77, and twice in these rooms, 27^th April 2003, lot 56, and 10^th April 2006, lot 1686; and another was sold in these rooms, 26^th October 1993, lot 189. Compare also a flask decorated with flower scrolls in doucai enamels, in the Chang Foundation, illustrated in James Spencer, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pl. 160.

For the prototype of this form and design, see a blue and white flask of Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, decorated with a flower scroll design and interlocking sprays of lotus in underglaze red, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 200.

Compare also a blue and white double-gourd flask with a rounded, base, similarly decorated with flower scrolls, illustrated in Qian Zhenzong, Qingdai ciqi shangjian, Shanghai, 1994, pl. 160.

For an example of this rare shape, but covered in a teadust glaze. See one, from the Hotung Collection, sold in these rooms, 21^st May 1979, lot 126, and included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1985, cat. no. 188. A pair of Yongzheng teadust flasks, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1986, pl. 961, was sold in our London rooms, 10^th December 1985, lot 271.