A large blue and white 'lotus' handled vase (Hu), Seal mark and period of Qianlong

English Private Collection.

Of monumental proportions, brilliant blue coloration and auspicious design, the present vase is a triumph of imperial potting. While the form of this vase is loosely based on archaic bronze hu vessels of the Zhou period, the scrolling lotus, shou roundels and formal bands are more reminiscent of the beloved porcelains of the Ming dynasty, reimagined in the cosmopolitan tastes of the Emperor and his court. 

The present design is replete with auspicious symbolism beloved of the Qianlong Emperor. Most conspicious is the lotus, a lasting symbol of Buddhism and purity, rising from the muddied waters unsullied and bright. Around the neck, roundels of shou (longevity) characters confer wishes of long life whille abstracted loops of lingzhi fungus and a diaper ground of wan (myriad) characters similarly confer a prayer for longevity and plenty.

A closely related vase in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr and Mrs J.M. Hu, Shanghai, 1989, pl. 62; another is included in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, fig. 455, where the author describes this form as ‘deer-head’; one of a pair from the T.Y. Chao Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th May 1987, lot 272, was included in the exhibition Ch'ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, Art Gallery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1973, cat. no. 68; and another was sold at Christie’s London, 16th December 1981, lot 35 and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd April 2019, lot 3630.