Lot 3601. A rare large blue and white 'flower and butterfly' quatrefoil vase with elephant handles, seal mark and period of Qianlong(1736-1795); 36.3 cm, 14 ¼ in. Estimate: 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 4,773,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

painted on each lobed side with a 'butterfly' medallion encircled by evenly spaced floral scrolls, below floral friezes encircling the rim and neck, the latter flanked by a pair of elephant head handles, all above scrollwork skirting the splayed galleried foot, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark, wood stand and Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Acquired in Kansai, prior to 1970.

Note: This magnificent large blue and white vase is a rare example which encapsulates the Qianlong Emperor’s interest in antiquity. Modelled on an archaic bronze hu vase, the elephant handles are an exotic innovation. The elephant-head handles continue a design concept developed by the Qianlong Emperor, which was favoured for its auspicious symbolism. The elephant not only represented exoticism, but was also closely associated with Buddhism, and the symbol of peace in Daoism. During the Qianlong reign, real elephants were used in processions when celebrating the Emperor’s birthday, while representing a time for renewal during New Year festivities. For a Qianlong blue and white vase with elephant-head handles, see a smaller vase decorated with elements of the bajixiang in the Wang Xing Lou Collection, included in the exhibition Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, 2004, cat. no. 12, and its companion piece, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2009, lot 1699. The size and complex four-lobed oval form of the current vase is identical to that of a Qianlong celadon-ground famille-rose vase with gilt elephant head’s handles, decorated with panels of flowers of the four seasons, sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2007, lot 818, and now in the Alan Chuang collection, illustrated in Julian Thompson, The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, pl. 108.