Lot 671. A coral-ground grisaille-painted rouleau vase, Qing dynasty. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 USD. Lot sold 11,875 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.  

the cylindrical body with two rectangular panels of grisaille-painted landscapes, one depicting an elderly sage carrying a basket of lingzhi, the other showing a scholar leaning out over the water from a rustic hut, divided by prunus, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo enclosed within four smaller shaped cartouches, the neck with two rectangular reserves detailing further auspicious emblems, a three-legged toad, coral 'antiques' and a recumbent deer, all reserved on a delicately mottled, rich orange-red ground. Height 18 1/4  in., 46.4 cm

Provenance: Collection of Yvonne Costello Gould (1918-2016), Montreal, Canada.. 

Note: The prunus, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo are popularly known as the 'Four Gentlemen,' for each is said to embody the noble qualities of the ideal Confucian gentleman-scholar and together they are associated with the four seasons.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art New York, 15 Mar 2017