Sotheby's Hong Kong, 15th May 1990, lot 193.

香港蘇富比1990年5月15日，編號193

Sotheby's Hong Kong – Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 197.

Sotheby's. Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 294.

《香港蘇富比二十週年》，香港，1993年，圖版197

《香港蘇富比三十週年》，香港，2003年，圖版294

It is rare to find porcelains of the Qianlong period painted entirely in copper red and the present piece is even more unusual for its auspicious double-gourd form and for the attractive chi dragon roundel design on the main body. Only a few similar examples are known; such as the pair on display in the Suianshi (Room of Finding Peace) in the Yangxindian (Hall of Cultivating Mind) in the Forbidden City, Beijing, where the emperor is said to have rested during fasting periods, illustrated in situ in Qingdai gongting shenghuo/Life in the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 177. Another closely related piece was sold at Christie's 28th July 1975, lot 213. A further vase of this form and decoration and resting on a short🌳 foot, but of slightly smaller dimensions was sold in 𝓡these rooms, 29th November 1976, lot 499.

Qianlong mark and period double-gourd form vases painted with dragons amongst clouds in copper red are another version of this type. See one from the collection of T.Y. Chao included in the exhibition Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong 🐎Kong, 1978, cat. no. 781, and sold thrice in these rooms, 17th November 1975, lot 222, 18th November 1986, lot 71, and again 2nd April 2018, lot 3203. Another was sold in our London rooms, 20th June 2001, lot 23, and again in these rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1216.

Vases of this form can also be found painted with a continuous lotus scroll motif, such as the piece from the collections of Julius David Ichenhausern (1858-1910), New York, and Sir William Cornelius Van Horne (1843-1915), sold at Christie's New York, 16th September 2011, lot 1564; and another Qianlong vase from the Daae collection included in the exhibition Daae Samlingen, Kunstindustrimuseet, Oslo, 1989, p. 37.

Underglaze red decoration, much favoured during the early Ming dynasty but virtually abandoned after the Xuande period due to the very high failure rate during firing, was revived and mastered in the early ♈Qing dynasty, around the 1670s of the Kangxi period. It became a standard practice although successful firing of the copper pigment remained particularly difficult hence wares decorated in this manner continued to be made in small quantities.

純以銅紅繪製之乾隆瓷器極甚珍罕，此葫蘆瓶器形寓意吉祥，瓶身繪團螭紋細緻悅目，更是難得。相似作例僅止數器。北京紫禁城養心殿隨安室，據說為帝王齋戒期間的居所，室中展示一對相類瓶例，錄於《清代宮廷生活》，香港，1985年，圖版177。另一極其相似之瓶，售於倫敦佳士得1975年7月28日，編號21🔯3。相同器形及紋樣之品尚有一件，惟尺寸較小，下承矮足，1976年11月29日售於香港蘇富比，編號499。 

此類作品尚有乾隆款釉裏紅海水祥雲游龍圖葫蘆瓶例，可參考一例曾展於《趙從衍基金會藏明清陶瓷》，香港藝術館，香港，1978年，編號781，先後三度售於香꧑港蘇富比1975年11月17日，編號222，及1986年11月18日，編號71及2018年4月2日，編號3203。另有一器，售於倫敦蘇富比2001年6月20日，🐬編號23，後又售於香港蘇富比2007年10月9日，編號1216。

同器形之瓶，亦可見繪纏枝蓮紋者，如紐約 Julius David Ichenhausern（1858-1910年）及 William Cornelius Van Horne ꦓ爵士（1843-1915年）舊藏品，售於紐約佳士得2011年9月16日，編號1564。還可比較 Daae 珍藏乾隆作例，展於《Daae Samlingen》，挪威工藝博物館，奧斯陸，1989年，頁37。

釉裏紅盛行於明初，但因其燒成比率甚低，宣德年後幾盡ও廢止。至清初康熙年間，約1670年代，始得復甦，並臻趨完善。匠人雖得製釉裏紅之法門，但由於銅紅發色掌握甚難，是以燒造一直有限。