A teadust-glazed double-gourd vase. Impressed Qianlong seal mark and of the period. photo Bonhams

The globular lower section narrowing to a slender waist moulded with lappets, the upper section of ovoid form with elegantly arched handles leading down to ruyi-head terminals at the hips, all covered with a mottled glaze of deep yellow-green tone. 26cm (10¼in) high. Estimate: £60,000 - 100,000, CNY 590,000 - 990,000, HK$ 720,000 - 1,200,000

Provenance: Christie's London, 16 November 1998, lot 239
The Inder Rieden Collection

The double-gourd vase with loop handles is known as fushouping and carries connotations of good fortune, happiness and longevity. The tea-dust
glaze is composed of olive and yellow specks resembling tea-dust. It had been used in the Yaozhou and other north Chinese kilns during the Tang and early Song Dynasties, but reached its maturity by the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns of the Qing Dynasty, when it was known as 'factory glaze', changguan you.

For similar vases, see the catalogues to the exhibitions at the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shimmering Colours: Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods: The Zhuyuetang Collection, no.167, and Ethereal Elegance: Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing: The Huaihaitang Collection, o.60. For a further example, see R.Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, vol.II, no.938.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 10 Nov 2011, New Bond Street www.bonhams.com