Page 132 - 2021 March 15th Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Bonhams NYC New York

ANOTHER PROPERTY Compare with a related cinnabar-lacquer ‘double-gourd’ vase, late
18th century, decorated with medallions enclosing the Da Ji characters
146 in gilt metal on a blue enamel ground in the Victoria and Albert
A PAIR OF RARE LARGE CINNABAR LACQUER Museum, London, illustrated by E.F. Strange, Catalogue of Chinese
DOUBLE-GOURD ‘DAJI’ VASES Lacquer, London, 1925, no.33, pl.XV.
Qianlong
Both vases with slightly flattened sides and narrow waists, rising Other similar examples of cinnabar ‘Da ji’ vases were sold in our
from rectangular flared feet, the cinnabar lacquer finely carved with London salesroom, 5 November 2020, lot 106, and a single cinnabar
scrolling lotus on a diaper ground, with gilt medallions inset to both vase, 18th century, was sold at Christie’s, New York, 13-14 September
the the upper lower bulbs with the characters da “Great” and ji 2012, lot 1298.
“Auspiciousness”.
18 7/8in (47.9cm) high (2). See also Zhang Rong (Chief Editor) The Creation of Natural Immensity
and Grandeur, The Yang Shan Fang Collection of Lacquer from Song,
$30,000 - 50,000 Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing, 2020, pp.206-207, no. 61, for
another superb pair with inlays of mother-of-pearl da and ji characters
and chrysanthemum flowerheads replacing the lotus of our example.
清乾隆 剔紅纏枝花卉紋「大吉」葫蘆瓶一對
The characters Da Ji express the wish for good fortune and are
frequently used to decorate objects bearing a double-gourd shape.
The bottle gourd itself is associated with the Daoist Immortals,
particularly with Li Tieguai who used the gourd as a container for
medicine. The pairing of the bottle gourd with the Da Ji characters thus
creates a particularly auspicious object.

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