Double-gourd shaped vase with decoration of bats in fen-ts’ai enamels, Ch’ien-lung reign (1736-1795), Ch’ing dynasty

Double-gourd shaped vase with decoration of bats in fen-ts’ai enamels, Ch’ien-lung reign (1736-1795), Ch’ing dynasty

• Image Number: K1B011356N000000000PAE
• Dynasty: Qing dynasty
• Category: Ceramics
• Function: Furnisher
• Material: Minerals/Ceramics/
• Description:
  The utensil is in the shape of a gourd, and the waist is decorated with purple ribbons. Although the ribbons are molded from porcelain clay, the twists at the knot and the wrinkles and creases of the ribbon are all realistically displayed. The whole body is covered with orange red underglaze, the lip is painted with gold, the outer wall of the foot is painted with cloud patterns, and the body is painted with tangled vines and gourds. The vines and green leaves are different in depth. The cucurbit fruit is yellow, and some are dotted with brown spots; Bats are decorated with orange glaze, with the character “Swastika” in their mouth, either up or down. The inside and the bottom of the vessel are painted with lake green glaze, and the bottom center is left blank with six character seal characters of “Made in the year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty” in red color. The official kilns of Qianlong liked to be decorated with auspicious patterns. In the eighth year of Qianlong’s reign (1743), the emperor issued a decree to the imperial kilns, instructing them to make porcelain patterns “on time”. Therefore, the gourd shape of this product is auspicious because of the homonym between gourd and “fortune”