Lot 3494. A very rare pair of white-glazed 'Liu Hai' vases, Yongzheng four-character seal marks and of the period (1723-1735); 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price Realized HKD 2,920,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

Each vase is delicately potted with a globular body supported on a stepped foot, and surmounted by a cylindrical neck rising to a flaring mouth rim. Each is moulded with two sets of double bowstring bands, one encircling the foot, the other surrounding the neck, which is flanked by two addorsed figures of Liu Hai, each holding a lingzhi spray and a string of coins, and accompanied by a three-legged toad.

Provenance: An English private collection, purchased in the 1960s.

Note: The present pair of vases is extremely unusual, especially for its decoration of figure-form handles. Compare to a nearly identical example (fig. 1) in the Palace Museum, Beijing, suffused with glaze lines throughout its exterior, illustrated by Geng Baochang (ed.) in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi, juan 1, vol. 1. pp. 198-9, no. 85.

White-glazed 'Liu Hai' vase, Yongzheng mark and of the period, in the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Including The Su Zhu An Collection of Inkstones), Hong Kong, 27 November 2013