A fine and rare pair of coral-ground gilt-decorated 'lotus and bats' bowls, Seal marks and period of Jiaqing

Collection of Sir Thomas Beaumont Hohler (1871-1946), and thence by descent.

Adorned with auspicious symbols rendered in gold on a rich vermillion ground, the present pair is a fine example of the opulent designs that gained favour in the Qing court at the turn of the nineteenth century. The use of this auspicious design on bowls appears to be very rare. Compare coral-ground bowls of a related gilt design with four white medallions enclosing the characters wan shou wu jiang (‘long life without end’), including one from the Rende Zhai Collection, sold with a matching cover at Christie’s New York, 16th December 2014, lot 40. Compare also a Jiajing mark and period double-gourd vase decorated with similar bats, lotus scrolls and wan and shou characters, sold at Bonhams London, 15th May 2014.

Unlike most known examples of related design, the present pair also features roundels of shuangxi (‘double happiness’) characters, traditionally associated with wedding celebrations. This – together with the rarity of the design – suggests that the pair may have been commissioned specially for use during an imperial wedding. See a similarly decorated wedding set adorned with shuangxi characters, likely commissioned for the marriage of the Tongzhi Emperor in 1872, sold in our New York rooms, 20th September 2023, lot 543.