A RARE DOUCAI AND FAMILLE-ROSE 'LOTUS' VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

well proportioned, potted with a tapered body rising from a countersunk base to a slightly angular shoulder and surmounted by a tall waisted neck, the neck flanked by a pair of ruyi-shaped loop handles terminating with a flange with an upturned end, picked out with small florets and dots, the neck and lower body densely decorated with large stylised multi-coloured lotus blooms borne on meandering foliate scrolls, interrupted with a thin yellow band with floral scrolls bordering the shoulder, all between a pendent plantain lappet border and an upright ruyi band encircling the rim and foot respectively, all the detail rendered in the doucai palette with delicate famille-rose highlights, the countersunk base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark

The vase is structurally in good condition, but under ultra violet light it is possible to see evidence of restoration to the mouth. This covers what appears to be chips / cracks, covering approximately half of the mouth rim, and extending at the deepest point to 4cm.
"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."

Vases of this form and decoration are rare and only one other example appears to be known, but rendered in underglaze blue, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th/30th October 2001, lot 823. There are slight variations in the decorative bands, with ruyi heads at the rim, crashing waves and ruyi heads at the shoulder and lappets encircling the foot. While the blue and white version has been rendered in an early-Ming style, the present vase captures a more contemporaneous style, not only due to the doucai and famille-rose palettes but also through the rococo inspired acanthus leaves and C-scrolls surrounding the lotus blooms.

The form is inspired by archaic bronze hu vessels and was popular from the Yongzheng period, when it was produced in much larger size and decorated in a variety of glazes. These larger vases are more commonly found with tubular handles or with no handles. For a vase with tubular handles and raised on a short foot, painted with floral bands in underglaze blue, see one sold in these rooms, 16th May 1977, lot 90, now in the Hong Kong Museum of Art and included in the Museum’s exhibition The Wonders of the Potter’s Palette, 1984, cat. no. 63; and a Guan-type vase sold twice in these rooms, 1st May 2001, lot 525, and 8th April 2013, lot 3051. A large vase of this form without handles, carved with archaistic bands and covered in a celadon glaze, also with a Qianlong seal mark and of the period, is illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 290.