Lot 3281. A rare imperial coral-ground gilt-decorated bottle vase, Xianfeng six-character mark in iron red and of the period (1851-1861); 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 1,500,000 - HKD 2,800,000. Price realised HKD 3,400,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2014.  

The vase is delicately enamelled in gilt on the neck with blooming lotus flowers each enclosing a Wan symbol borne on scrolling tendrils, the globular body decorated with further scrolling lotus interspersed with bats each suspending a Ji character.

Note: Imperial porcelain produced during the Xianfeng period are rare, partially due to the relatively short reign of the Emperor, but also due to the Taiping Rebellion which broke out in the fifth year of the Xianfeng reign, during which the Jingdezhen Imperial kilns were largely destroyed by the rebellion forces, and were not rebuilt until later in the Tongzhi reign. Most of the Imperial Xianfeng porcelain bear a reign mark in standard script, just like the present vase, while stylistically are much in line with Jiaqing and Daoguang Imperial wares. Compare for example to a Jiaqing-marked coral-ground gilt-decorated vase from the Huaihaitang Collection, which bears an almost identical decoration as that on the present vase, illustrated in Ethereal Elegance: Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007, pl. 83. Compare also to another Jiaqing-marked coral-ground quatrefoil vase gilt-decorated with similar lotus motifs, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3654.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 26 November 2014