A PAIR OF LIME-GREEN GROUND FAMILLE-ROSE VASES SEAL MARKS AND PERIOD OF JIAQING

each with a globular body rising from a spreading foot to a tall waisted neck, brightly enamelled against a lime-green ground with pairs of confronting butterflies, bats, peaches and endless knots interspersed amongst lotus blooms borne on meandering foliate sprays, all above a lappet band, the rim and foot encircled with ruyi and key-fret bands, enamelled turquoise to the interior and base, the base inscribed in iron red with a six-character seal mark

One vase has a three branch starcrack (1.5 cm, 1 cm and 2 cm long) to the base that runs partialy through the mark. There is some rubbing to the gilding at the rim of each and some small dark pitting to the turquoise glaze to the interior neck of each. General surface wear and minor enamel losses. Please note that both vases are affixed with old provenance labels to the base (Nixon & Rhodes, 390 Oxford Street, London W1). The actual colour is brighter than the catalogue illustration.
"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."

Exquisitely painted and finely potted, the present pair of vases belongs to a small group of Jiaqing mark and period wares that are favoured for the combination of their form and decoration. The intricate composition of auspicious motifs amongst leafy floral scrolls, seen on pieces in this group, suggest that they were produced as marriage gifts. The two facing butterflies represent a joyful reunion and marital happiness, the bats are a pun for blessings, the endless knot represents continuity, while the peaches symbolise longevity. Gunhild Avitabile in the exhibition catalogue From the Dragon’s Treasure, Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Berlin, 1987, p. 33, interprets the meaning of this design combination as ‘May good luck (fu), longevity (die represented twice – twice seventy years) continue (lien) without interruption (symbol of the knot)’.

A vase of this type, decorated in famille-rose enamels on a similar lime-green ground, from the collection of George Weishaupt and illustrated Ibid., pl. 23, was sold three times, in our Amsterdam rooms, 16th October 1995, lot 28; in our Hong Kong rooms, 30th April 1996, lot 509; and in these rooms, 10th November 2010, lot 120. See another Jiaqing mark and period vase of this form decorated with two wide bands of lotus scrolls on a green ground, sold in our New York rooms, 4th June 1982, lot 280.

Slightly smaller Jiaqing mark and period bottle vases of this shape with ruyi sceptre handles on the neck, painted with dense flower scroll motif in famille-rose on a lime-green ground, are also known; for example, see two examples sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 12th May 1983, lot 232, and 2nd November 1998, lot 321.

The same auspicious design may be found on Jiaqing green-ground famille-rose jars, such as the piece sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 22nd May 1979, lot 271; and also on a turquoise-ground moonflask, with the butterflies featured prominently in the centre surrounded by bats and peaches, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 174.

For the inspiration of the decoration see a Qianlong covered cup with the motif of bats and peaches amongst a dense floral scroll, although lacking butterflies, on a gold-ground, in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 263.