A large doucai 'Lotus and Bats' jar and cover. Qianlong Seal Mark And Period. Photo Sotheby's

the baluster body rising from a recessed base to a short waisted neck with everted rim, brightly painted, enamelled and gilt with bats in flight amidst lotus strapwork, all between a lotus lappet band at the foot and a ruyi band at the shoulder, the interior and base turquoise, the stepped domed cover similarly decorated with lotus strapwork and surmounted by a later gilt finial. Quantity: 2. 46.5cm. Estimate 300,000-500,000 GBP. Unsold

NOTE: Porcelain manufacturing reached its zenith of development under the Qianlong emperor, who had a deep appreciation for wares that combined aesthetic harmony with technical virtuosity. This vase is a masterpiece for its large body that has been magnificently decorated with an ornate composition of foliate lotus scrolls and bats in rich doucai enamels. 

The sumptuous quality of the vase is accentuated by the restrained use of gilt paint and reflects the exceptional standard of quality of its time.

No other closely related vase appears to have been published; for a Qianlong mark and period vase painted with a related design of four bats surrounding a central lotus bloom amidst a foliate scroll, see an ovoid vase with the tall neck and foot encircled by stiff leaves and flanked with dragon handles, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 955; and another sold in these rooms, 1st/2nd April 1974, lot 322. A Qianlong vase and cover of this form, but of much smaller dimensions and decorated with iron red bats flying amongst scrolling clouds also highlighted with gilt, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Joined Colors. Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1993, cat. no. 71, and was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 1997, lot 748, from the Jingguantang collection. Compare also a Qianlong mark and period ovoid jar of slightly narrower proportions, but lacking its cover and decorated with a wide band of foliate lotus scrolls between formal bands of bats, sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th November 1983, lot 160, and again, 29th October 1991, lot 219.

Doucai decoration, where the motif is outlined in blue under the glaze and coloured over the glaze with enamel within the blue lines, is derived from the cloisonné technique of the Ming period. The technique of producing doucai wares was developed in the Chenghua period (1426-35), resulting in the delightful Chenghua chicken cups and stembowls.

Doucai wares continued to be appreciated during the Qing dynasty for their understated elegance and for their association with Chenghua porcelain, and were particularly appreciated by the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors who commissioned very fine examples of these wares to be made.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 09 Nov 2011 www.sothebys.com