Bonhams 1793 : A pair of yellow-ground 'bats' jardinières 19th century

19th century
Each jardinière of oval form and decorated on the exterior with a multitude of iron-red and gilt bats flying over a yellow ground, the flat rim with a band of key-fret, all raised on four feet shaped as ruyi-head and enamelled in turquoise, blue and iron-red with further gilding, wood stands. Each 32cm (12 5/8in) wide (4).

Sold for £39,650 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance: a Swiss private collection and thence by descent

十九世紀黃地描金紅蝠紋橢圓形缸一對

來源: 瑞士私人收藏，並由家族繼承下去

As a homonym for happiness, bats (蝠 fu) symbolise the desire for happiness (福 fu). Compare other porcelain pieces with similar iron-red bats on yellow ground from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Guo Xingkuan and Wang Guangyao, Gong yang yu ci, Beijing, 2007, p.112-115.