Lot 3136. A large famille rose 'Hundred bats' dish, Guangxu six-character mark in iron red and of the period (1875-1908); 13 ½ in. (34.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 20,000. Price Realized USD 18,750. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

With shallow rounded sides, the interior is decorated overall with a lively multitude of iron-red bats in flight amidst scattered trefoil clouds in green, blue, pink and pale yellow, all within a narrow gilt and iron-red band below the rim. The exterior is similarly decorated.

Note: A similar dish included in the exhibition, Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1983, no. 139, was later sold at Christie's Singapore, 30 March 1997, lot 285. Another similar example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 November 2013, lot 3458.

According to Jan Stuart, 'Layers of Meaning', in Joined Colors - Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 57, bats and clouds symbolize 'vast happiness piled up to the sky'.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 15 - 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza