Lot 210
Treasury 3, no. 431 (‘The Continuous Happiness Coral’)
HK$237,500

Coral; well hollowed, with a flat lip and a recessed flat foot surrounded by a protruding flat footrim; carved with a continuous scene of nine bats amidst formalized clouds
1750–1860
Height: 7.38 cm
Mouth/lip 0.48/2.06 and 1.95 cm (oval)
Stopper: coral carved with a chi dragon; serpentine collar

Provenance:
Hugh M. Moss Ltd (1985)

Published:
Kleiner 1987, no. 185
Kleiner, Yang, and Shangraw 1994, no. 277
Kleiner 1995, no. 306
Treasury 3, no. 431

Exhibited:
Sydney L. Moss Ltd, London, October 1987
Creditanstalt, Vienna, May–June 1993
Hong Kong Museum of Art, March–June 1994
National Museum, Singapore, November 1994–February 1995
British Museum, London, June–October 1995
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, July–November 1997
University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong, 1999

This is a classic example of the group exemplified by Sale 1, lot 58, bearing one of its most popular subjects, bats in clouds. One side of this bottle represents one of the finer colours from the group, while the other side is the typical salmon-pink colour of the majority. It also has typical filling of flaws with coral-coloured wax.

This is another excellent example where a stunning bottle has been matched ideally with a stopper of similar material but with an intervening collar of contrasting colour and material, although here less obviously so than on Sale 1, lot 58.

This is not the Sotheby’s sale catalogue. This is a product of Hugh Moss for the purposes of this website. For the catalogue details please refer to Sotheby’s website or request a copy of a printed sale catalogue from Sotheby’s.