A RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL 'DA JI' DOUBLE GOURD VASEQianlong Elegantly modelled with a large globular lower bulb with four stepped cartouches containing the characters Ji , supporting a slightly smaller upper bulb with a further four stepped cartouches containing the characters da , rising to a waisted neck with a narrow mouth, entirely decorated around the body in vibrant tones of yellow, blue, red and white enamel with geometric diamond-patterns, the foot and central waist with bands of floral scrolls, the mouth with pendant plantain leaves. 28.7cm (11 1/4in) high. 清乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺瑯「大吉」葫蘆瓶 Provenance : Roger Keverne Ltd., London Published, Illustrated and Exhibited : R.Keverne, Summer Exhibition, 2010, London, p.94, no.69. 來源 ：倫敦古董商Roger Keverne Ltd. 展覽著錄 ：R.Keverne著，《夏季展覽》，倫敦，2010年，頁94，編號69 See an identical cloisonné enamel double gourd vase, Qianlong, likely the pair to the present lot, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by B, Quette, Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties , New York and Paris, p.274, no.99, where the author notes that the geometric pattern is rare on cloisonné enamel but more often found on piecework textiles 'intended for use in Tibetan Buddhist rituals, notably to cover cymbals or for placement under ritual objects'. The pattern derives from Ming dynasty textiles; see He Li and M.Knight, Power and Glory: Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty , San Francisco, 2016, no.44. The characters Da Ji express the wish for good fortune and are frequently used to decorate vessels of double-gourd shape. The bottle gourd itself is associated with the Eight Daoist Immortals, particularly with Li Tieguai who used the gourd as a container for medicine. Daoist fairies are also often depicted with double gourds from which fly five red bats – representing the Five Blessings. Double gourds are also symbolic of prosperity and abundance, and in particular, an abundance of male children, which is further reinforced by the characters, da ji , meaning 'highly auspicious', in enamel. As a specific rebus, because they are born from leafy tendrils, the phrase for bottle gourds on a vine is huluman , while thebination of vines with tendrils reads as mandai : these two phrases together suggest the rebus hulu wandai 'May you have numerous descendants'.