A pair of gilt-bronze hexagonal vases, Ming Dynasty, Jiajing period. Est. HKD 500,000 — 700,000. Lot sold 975,000 HKD (125,804 USD). Photo: Sotheby's

each of hexagonal section, cast with a baluster body surmounted by a tall trumpet neck and flared rim, the neck with a stylised shou character, the faceted sides of the lower body decorated with various leafy sprays, including pomegranate, lotus, lychee and peach, below a continuous scene of further floral blossoms and fourwan characters around the neck, the neck flanked by a pair of elephant-head loop handles suspending loose lobed rings with lotus motifs - 24.5 cm., 9 5/8  in.

Provenance: Peter Kemp Antiques, London, 1981 

Notes: Finely decorated with floral and fruity branches over a punched ground, the iconography of these vases matches those on porcelain wares of the period. The unusual motif of a stylised shou character forming a tree, for instance, can be found on a Jiajing reign-marked wucai dish preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours. The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p.19, no.18.

This design is also found on Fahua wares of the period, such as two baluster-shaped vases modelled with elephant-head handles and decorated with similar ruyi heads under the shoulder, sold at Christie's London, the first, 20th November 1972, lot 60, and the second, 14th July 1980, lot 173. See also a bronze bottle vase similarly decorated with fruity branches and elephant-head handles was sold in our London rooms, 15th June 1982, lot 123.

These vases are characteristic of Jiajing works of art, as the designs are imbued with Daoist imagery intended to protect their owner from the vicissitudes of fortune and to ascertain male offspring and a prolonged life. Among the various auspicious motifs depicted on these vases, the pomegranates, lychees and lotus pods with exposes seeds are symbolic of fertility and the arrival of male sons, while the peaches and the plum trees with their trunk contorted to form a shoucharacter represent the wish for longevity and a long life.

Sotheby's. Later Chinese Bronzes From The Collection of Mr And Mrs Gerard Hawthorn. Hong Kong, 03 Dec 2015