Page 381 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

347 Details of undersides
A pair of painted enamel yellow-ground double-gourd vases
18th century
One vase brightly painted with four pink bats and a single butterfly, the
other vase with five bats, all flying amid foliate scrolls issuing a multitude
of various flowers including lotus, peony, and orchid, all between a row
of lappets above key-fret at the foot and pendent ruyi heads beneath
a band of floral scrolls at the mouth, the undersides each with a coiled
fierce chilong, wood stands.
Each 25.7cm (10 1/8in) high (4).
£15,000 - 20,000
HK$180,000 - 240,000 CNY140,000 - 190,000

十八世紀 畫琺瑯花卉蝠蝶紋葫蘆式瓶一對

The yellow enamel ground on the double gourd vases would indicate
that these may have been made in Guangzhou as tribute ware to the
Qing Court. Both the shape and the decoration of these vases are highly
auspicious: the butterfly (蝴蝶 hudie) symbolises an accumulation of
blessings (福 fu and 疊 die) while the bat (蝠 fu) and in particular five
bats (蝠 wufu) also means blessings. When combined with the double
gourd shape of the vases (葫蘆 hulu), the pun is further developed
to mean ‘may you have both blessings and wealth’ (福祿雙全 fulu
shuangquan) or ‘may you have blessings and emolument for ten
thousand generations’ (福祿萬代 fulu wandai).

Fine Chinese Art | 377