4 - The Property of a Gentleman, to be offered without reserve (Lots 1 - 56)

The Property of a Gentleman, to be offered without reserve (Lots 1 - 56) A Chinese famille rose 'butterflies' bottle vase, shangping Qing dynasty, Guangxu mark and period Enamelled throughout with a multitude of butterflies, the base with six-character mark in iron red, 39cm high. (Import Duty Charged on the Hammer Price)落槌價徵收進口關稅 Provenance: British private collection, assembled in Hong Kong 1988-1998. Hwa Xia Antiques co., Hong Kong, 6 December 1988 (receipt). 清光緒 粉彩描金「百蝶」紋賞瓶，礬紅楷書「大清光緒年製」款 來源：英國私人收藏，於1988至1998年間在香港購藏。 華夏古玩，香港，1988年12月6日（收據）。 Cf. a similar vase in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, acc. no. 故瓷001882N000000000. 參閱：一件類似的瓶子收藏於北京故宮博物院，館藏編號：故瓷001882N000000000。 The Chinese character for “butterfly” (die 蝶) is a homophone of that for “a venerable old age” (die 耋), and thus a hundred butterflies carry the auspicious connotation of longevity into an advanced age. This form of the shangping is first recorded in the Yongzheng period, when examples of the type were known in the Qing imperial archives as “Yutang Chun” vases. It was among the classic vessels employed as decorative furnishings within the Qing court. Prior to the Guangxu period, the most prevalent form of such vases was decorated in underglaze blue with scrolling floral motifs. From the Guangxu reign onwards, however, the repertoire of decorative designs became increasingly varied. In addition to underglaze blue, examples decorated in famille rose enamels and covered in blue glaze began to appear. The bodies were adorned not only with the traditional scrolling flowers and cloud-and-dragon designs, but also with auspicious motifs such as a hundred butterflies surrounding the character Shou and stylised "flower ball” . Such designs are among the most distinctive and representative of porcelain produced during the Guangxu reign. “蝶”与“耋”谐音,因此百蝶寓有“寿至耄耋”之意。此式樣賞瓶早見於雍正朝時期，清宮檔案原名為「玉堂春瓶」，是清代宮廷的經典陳設器皿。光緒朝之前，賞瓶以青花繪製纏枝花卉品種最爲多見。自光緒朝始，賞瓶種類日漸豐富，除青花外，還出現了粉彩和藍釉等品種，瓶腹除繪傳統的纏枝花卉，雲龍紋等紋樣外，還流行百蝶壽字、皮球花等圖案，是光緒朝瓷器中極具代表性的種類。