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A PAIR OF BLUE AND WHITE ‘BATS AND The theme of bats, and the wufu motif in particular, gained
SHOU’ DISHES currency as a subject matter on porcelain the 18th century
QIANLONG SEAL MARKS AND PERIOD under emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong. This pair of dishes
combine the auspicious wufu theme with the shou character
each painted in vibrant tones of cobalt-blue to the interior with to express the wish ‘May you be granted longevity and the Five
a central shou roundel, surrounded by ve bats each grasping Blessings.’ The formal arrangement of bats, ribbons, and shou
a beribboned wan symbol, bordered by a band of pendent character in the central medallion of each dish is replicated
ruyi heads below the rim, the exterior with leafy lotus sprays on other blue and white dishes of the period, such as the one
divided by bats suspending beribboned chimes, the base with sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 15th May 1990, lot 150, which
a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue (2) substitutes bajixiang for the bats.
Diameter 6½ in., 16.5 cm
$ 30,000-50,000
IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 15
