A rare molded famille-rose 'wine jar' meiping, Seal mark and period of Daoguang | 清道光 粉彩「狀元紅」瓶 《大清道光年製》款

Collection of Georg Weishaupt (1906-2004), no. 724.

Sotheby's Amsterdam, 16th October 1995, lot 188.

Georg Weishaupt (1906-2004) 收藏，編號724

阿姆斯特丹蘇富比1995年10月16日，編號188

From the Dragon's Treasure: Chinese Porcelain from the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Weishaupt Collection, Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt and Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Berlin, 1987, cat. no. 35.

《From the Dragon's Treasure: Chinese Porcelain from the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Weishaupt Collection》，應用藝術博物館，法蘭克福及装饰艺术博物馆，柏林，1987年，編號35

Still produced and imbibed today, Zhuang Yuan Hong is a traditional rice wine from Shaoxing in Zhejiang province. In the Shaoxing region, it was customary for locals to bury a jar of wine when a child was born. The wine would be unearthed and enjoyed on his or her wedding day, or in the case of a son, if he returned home successful after the imperial examinations. Such wine jars were often colorfully decorated or carved with floral designs, hence Shaoxing wine has become synonymous with the term huadiao jiu ('floral carved wine'). 

The present vase faithfully imitates these wine jars, from the descriptive content labels to the surrounding elaborate wickerwork, a feature still found on large Shaoxing wine vessels today. Given the celebratory connotations of these wine jars, relating to births, marriages, and scholarly success, it is possible porcelain 'Zhuang Yuan Hong' vessels such as this piece were gifted as auspicious presents. 

Compare a related Daoguang period meiping in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, vibrantly enameled in red with molded wickerwork designs, also with similar labels, published on the museum's website (https://www.dpm.org.cn/collection/ceramic/227001).