Lot 323. A fine blue and white 'Peach' moonflask, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795). 24.3 cm, 9 1/2  in. Estimate 1,800,000 — 2,500,000 HKD. Lot Sold 3,000,000 HKD (322,436 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

the flattened circular body rising from a short splayed foot to a waisted neck and flared rim, flanked by a pair of ruyi handles, the exterior moulded in low relief on both sides with a peach-shaped panel enclosing bats soaring around fruiting leafy sprays bearing clusters of ripe peaches, the panels surrounded by a leafy floral scroll ground similarly decorated to the sides and neck, all below upright ruyi lappets and a lingzhi meander around the rim, the rectangular foot skirted with a classic scroll band, inscribed to the base with a six-character seal mark.

Provenance: Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), and thence by descent in the family.

Exhibition: Ch’ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1973, cat. no. 66 (one of a pair).

Note: This moonflask has been finely executed to imitate the celebrated wares of the early fifteenth century through both its form and the use of the 'heaped and piled' technique to render the design. Qing craftsmen skilfully manipulated the cobalt pigment to simulate the uneven blue tones of early Ming underglaze blue designs. Its flattened globular form, tall and gently waisted neck, and two handles were also adapted from early Ming prototypes, such as a moonflask attributed to the Yongle reign (1403-1424), painted with flower sprays, from the former collection of the Ottoman Sultans and now in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. 2, London, 1986, pl. 613.

Qianlong mark and period moonflasks of this type are held in important museum and private collections worldwide; see one in the Nanjing Museum, published in Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2004, cat. no. 220; and another in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, included in the Museum’s exhibition Beauty and Tranquillity. The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis, 1983, cat. no. 116. Further examples include one from the collection of R.I.C. Herridge, sold in these rooms, 29th November 1978, lot 235.

Canteen with peaches and bats design, Qing dynasty, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Lilly, 60.147, Indianapolis Museum of Art.