A rare famille rose celadon-ground 'Butterflies and gourd-vine' vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark in iron red and of the period (1736-1795). Estimate 200,000 – $300,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The tapering, high-shouldered body and slender neck are finely enameled with a continuous, dense design of butterflies flitting amidst fruiting and flowering gourd vines, all on a celadon ground between borders of petal lappets below and ruyi heads at the flared mouth rim above. The interior is covered in turquoise enamel, as is the base surrounding the reign mark. 15 in. (38 cm.) high

Provenance: Acquired in Paris in the 1880s, and thence by descent within the family.

Notes: The auspicious decoration of butterflies combined with fruiting gourd vines found on this vase forms the rebus guadie mianmian, 'May you have ceaseless generations of descendants'.

The same combination of butterflies and fruiting gourd vine decoration in famille rose enamels on a celadon ground is also seen on a larger vase (53.5 cm.) of a different shape with gilt dragon handles, and a gilt Qianlong seal mark, illustrated in Chugoku meitou ten (An Exhibition of Noted Chinese Ceramics), Japan, 1992, no. 143, and possibly the same vase that was sold at Christie's London, 6 June 1988, lot 103. (Fig. 1) On the present vase, most likely due to its slender shape, the decoration is more densely arranged than on the larger vase, but both the present vase and the larger vase or vases have a similar ruyi border just below the mouth rim, and the fine quality of the enamel decoration is also similar.

Fig. 1. A famille rose celadon-ground ‘butterfies and gourd-vine’ vase, Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-1795). Sold at Christie’s London, 6 June 1988, lot 103.

Christie’s. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza