Page 108 - Bonhams Hong K June 2016

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A RARE IMPERIAL MING-STYLE BLUE AND WHITE 'PEACH'
PILGRIM FLASK, BIANHU
Daoguang seal mark and of the period
Of flattened form rising from a splayed rectangular foot, moulded on
each side with a raised peach-shaped cartouche in relief, painted
with two bats in flight encircling peaches issuing from a gnarled leafy
branch, the body further surrounded by meandering lotus scrolls and
two bands of lingzhi running along the sides, the narrow neck flanked
by a pair of ruyi-form handles, with further lotus scrolls and a trefoil
band below the everted rim, the base with a six-character
zhuanshu mark.
24cm (9 1/2in) high

HK$200,000 - 300,000
US$26,000 - 39,000

清道光 青花花卉福壽雙全如意耳扁壺 青花「大清道光年製」篆書款

The present moonflask is a direct continuation of similar vases made 此式扁壺為清宮御製瓷中經典樣式，始見於乾隆，止燒於道光，其造
during the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods. However, it would appear 型由明永樂、宣德官窯青花扁瓶發展而來，青花花卉紋中特別繪製
that a much larger number was produced during the prosperous 細小斑點，刻意仿明代官窯青花之鐵鏽斑。清代初期景德鎮御窯廠每
Qianlong reign, with far fewer examples made in later reigns, making 年按內務府造辦處設計的樣式燒造御用瓷器，秋、冬兩次運送至內務
the present lot particularly rare. However, a similar blue and white 府，稱大運琢器，道光朝內務府造辦處檔中的原名則為「仿宣窯青
moonflask, Daoguang seal mark and period, from the Simon Kwan 花福壽雙帶馬褂瓶」，是道光朝清宮每年燒造三十種「大運」琢器
collection was exhibited in the Art Museum, The Chinese University of 之一。道光時期，御窯廠燒造瓷器的數量銳減，燒造經費亦逐漸縮
Hong Kong, illustrated in S.Kwan, Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing from 減，因此這一時期所生產的此類扁瓶在傳世品中非常罕見，故此本品
the Kwan Collection, the Art Museum, Hong Kong, 1983, p.42, no.6. 尤其珍貴。僅見一例為關善明收藏，曾於1983年8月13日至9月25日
Compare also a rare Jiaqing period example in the collection of the 展出於香港中文大學文物館，見關善明著，《晚清官窯瓷器》，香
Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in China's Jingdezhen Porcelain 港，1983年，頁42，編號6。除此以外，見北京故宮博物院藏一嘉慶
Through the Ages: Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 1998, pp.253-254, 例子，著錄於《中國歷代景德鎮瓷器》，北京，1998年，頁253-254
nos.1 and 2. ，編號1及2。

This pilgrim flask belongs to a group of about thirty Imperial porcelains
designed by the Imperial Household Department which are referred
to as dayun porcelain in the Imperial archive of the Qing dynasty and
were sent to the Imperial court in the autumn and winter seasons.
These designs continued to be made until the twenty-fifth year of the
Daoguang period, corresponding to 1845-6, although the quantity
was strictly controlled by the Imperial Household Department. See
Wang Guangyao, Official Designs and Imperial Porcelain: The Palace
Museum's Collection of Official Porcelain Designs and Porcelains from
Imperial Kilns of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2007, pp.15-16.

The form of the present pilgrim flask was inspired by early 15th century
prototypes of the Yongle period. These in turn derive their form from
the Islamic metal flasks. The subtle and variated blue and white palette
imitates the early Ming dynasty imported cobalt blue, with high iron
content, resulting in dark blue spots on the surface, also known as the
'heaped and piled' effect.

The design of peaches and bats, with its highly auspicious
connotations, appears to have originated in the Kangxi reign, as
exemplified in a Beijing enamel censer, Kangxi yuzhi mark and period,
which was offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 October 2007, lot 1539,
and grew in popularity during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods,
when it was represented in diverse mediums. The bat, fu (蝠) and
peach shoutao (壽桃) form the pun fushou shuangquan or 'may you
have both blessings and longevity', which makes this piece particularly
suited to be presented as a gift on the occasion of an Imperial birthday.

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