Vase double-gourde en porcelaine bleu blanc. Chine, dynastie Qing, marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Photo Sotheby's

de section quadrangulaire à la base, délicatement décoré de chauves-souris, coloquintes dans des rinceaux feuillagés, le pied et le col soulignés d'une frise d'entrelacs, marque à six caractères en cachet à la base  30,5 cm, 12 in. Estimate  150,000-200,000 EUR

A blue and white double-gourd porcelain vase, China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong mark and

NOTE: A closely related vase in the Huaihaitang collection was included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. 103. For Qianlong mark and period vases of this form and size, but covered in a monochrome glaze, see a robin's egg-glazed example sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st May 2001, lot 524, and illustrated in Julian Thompson, The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, pl. 93; and another covered in a celadon glaze published in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collectio , vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 293.

The naturalistically painted design of fruiting double-gourd vines that curl elegantly around the entire body appears to have been inspired by Yuan dynasty double-gourd bottles; see the famous 'Alexander' bottle from the collection of William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916), illustrated in Regina Krahl, 'The Gourd of Long-Lasting Happiness and Prosperity: A New Departure for Porcelain Decoration in the Yuan Dynasty', Orientations, March 2005, p. 107, fig. 1, and sold at Woolley and Wallis, 15th July 2005, lot 448.

The Daoist associations of the gourd with longevity and symbolic embodiment of uniting heaven and earth is captured in both the form and decoration of this vase. Constructed of a globular upper section surmounting a square lower section, this form manifests the traditional Chinese concept of the universe as tian yuan di feng (the sky is round while the land is square). Furthermore the vines abundant with fruiting gourds symbolise everlasting fertility while the bats represent the wish for endless blessings. The double gourd surged in popularity under the devout Daoist Jiajing emperor (1522-66) and the form of the present vase was first produced during his reign; for example see one decorated with mythical creatures and figures in landscapes in the upper and lower sections respectively, sold at Christie's London, 16th November 1998, lot 73.

Sotheby's. Arts D'Asie. Paris | 15 Dec 2011 www.sothebys.com