A FINE BLUE AND WHITE 'PEACH AND BAT' MOONFLASK SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG |

the flattened circular body rising from a short splayed foot to a waisted neck flanked by a pair of ruyi handles, moulded in low relief to either side with a peach-shaped panel painted in rich tones of cobalt with simulated 'heaping and piling' depicting a pair of bats flying among fruiting sprays of peaches, reserved on a leafy floral scroll ground, the neck decorated with a lotus scroll below a band of upright ruyi and a lingzhi scroll encircling the mouth-rim, the handles carefully shaded in washes of blue, the narrow sides painted with foliate lingzhi and the foot picked out with a 'classic' scroll, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark, wood stand

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2nd November 1978, lot 236.

The moonflask is in overall very good condition with the exception of a firing line (0.3cm) under the right bat on the reverse side of the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This piece has been masterfully executed to resemble the celebrated blue and white wares of the early fifteenth century through the use of the ‘heaped and piled’ technique to render the designs. By carefully manipulating the cobalt pigment the craftsman of the present piece has successfully simulated the uneven blue tones characteristic of the early Ming period that occurred naturally as a result of the firing process. A closely related example was included in The Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics of Eight Dynasties, National Museum of History, Beijing, 1987, p. 65; another was exhibited in Beauty and Tranquillity. The Eli Lily Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1983, cat. no. 116; and another from the T.Y. Chao family collection was included in the exhibition Ch’ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1973, cat. no. 66, recently sold with its pair in our rooms, 1st December 2017, lots 323 and 325. Two further flasks were sold
in these rooms, one from the collection of R.I.C. Herridge, sold 28th November 1978, lot 235, and the other, 27th April 1993, lot 166; and a fine example of this model was sold in our Paris rooms, 18th December 2009, lot 263.

The design of peaches and bats, with its highly auspicious message, appears to have originated in the Yongzheng reign (1722-1735) and grew in popularity during the Qianlong period (1736-1795), when it was represented in all possible media. The bat (fu) and peach (shoutao) create the pun fushou shuangquan (‘May you have both blessings and longevity’), which makes this piece particularly suited to be presented as a gift on the occasion of a birthday.