Lot 3602. A rare pair of moulded celadon-glazed 'Bats and Gourds' bowls, Marks and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 15.7 cm., 6 1/8  in. Estimate 3,000,000 — 5,000,000  HKD. Lot sold 3,680,000 HKD (437,401 EUR). © Sotheby's

each finely potted with rounded conical sides resting on a short splayed foot, covered overall save for the base with an even pale celadon glaze, the exterior moulded with three scenes, each depicting a bat hovering over a leafy spray issuing two double-gourds, the recessed base with a slightly convex centre and inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle, wood stands.

Provenance: Christie's London, 15th July 2005, lot 259. 

Note: This elegant pair of bowls reflects the Yongzheng Emperor's penchant for simplicity of shape and design and flawless quality. Among all monochrome glazes developed at the Jingdezhen kilns, celadon was one of the most technically challenging and was achieved only through a perfect preparation, application, firing and cooling of each piece. Although the Jingdezhen kilns had begun to make small quantities of celadon-glazed porcelain in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), it was only with the arrival of the talented and innovative Tang Ying (1682-1756) that the celadon glaze was perfected and production greatly expanded. Tang Ying is known to have studied in detail the finest Imperial porcelain of the Song dynasty (960-1279), which led him to develop attractive shades of the celadon glaze, such as the pale-bluish glaze on this lot, also known as fengqing, which is highly effective over the relief decoration as it provides a delicate shaded effect. 

A closely related bowl, formerly in the E.T. Hall collection was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3520, where it was catalogued as a clair-de-lune glaze; a slightly smaller example, from the Paul and Helen Bernat collection, was sold in these rooms, 15th November 1988, lot 67; and a pair was sold at Christie's New York, 20th March 2001, lot 262, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th May 2008, lot 67. A similar motif of three bats, each grasping a gourd, lingzhi and fruiting branch, is carved on a Yongzheng mark and period celadon-glazed dish, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in theIllustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1980, pl. 149; and on a pair of dishes from the Hall family collection, sold in these rooms, 2nd May 2000, lot 528.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Works of Art, Hong Kong, 07 april 2015