Lot 146. A gilt-decorated famille-rose'daji''double gourd' plaque, Qing dynasty, Qianlong –Jiaqing period (1736-1820); with frame 35 cm, 13 3/4 in. Estimate 150,000 — 180,000 HKD (19,110 - 22,932 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.
moulded after a flattened beribboned double-gourd vase resting on a short foot and supported on a simulated wood stand, rendered with an iron-red surface picked out in gilt with a diapered ground, framing a gilt-rimmed white medallion on each bulb, the medallions enclosing the characters da and ji ('great happiness') respectively and encircled with five outstretched blue-outlined bats, all above a ruyi border skirting the foot, the shaped plaque further rendered with a billowing turquoise ribbon tied around the constricted waist and surmounted by a large gilt bat at the mouth-rim, affixed to a wood frame.
Note: Gourd-shaped vases inscribed with the characters daji (great happiness) are traditional good luck charms. Compare a daji plaque sold in these rooms, 2nd May 1995, lot 156; and another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2001, lot 743, and again in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 3189. See also a similar daji hanging vase in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Hu, Shanghai, 1989, pl. 70.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM