A Moon White Glazed Porcelain Square Gourd-shaped Vase
月白釉葫蘆方瓶
大清乾隆年制款
Ht.30cm Wd.16cm
It resembles a gourd, so it is called a "calabash bottle". "Gourd" is considered to be a miniature of heaven and earth in ancient Chinese myths and legends, and it is full of spiritual energy. The gourd is a multi-seed plant and a symbol of many children and happiness. Because of the homonym of the gourd, "Fu Lu", "Fu" also refers to the god of good fortune, and "Lu" refers to the official position of Lu, which means to pray for good luck. Porcelain gourd bottles were already present in the Tang Dynasty, and additional productions were made in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. The shape of this type of bottle is diverse, and the shape of the upper circle and the bottom of the square reflects the Taoist concept of the sky and the earth. It has the meaning of harmony between heaven and earth. The shortcomings of its molding process are far better than simple round utensils.
Qianlong seal mark
瓶呈葫蘆式，上圓下方，直口，束腰，方形圈足。器形似葫蘆故稱為「葫蘆瓶」。「葫蘆」在中國古代神話傳說中被認為是天地的縮微，充溢著靈氣，民間視為避邪鎮妖之物。葫蘆是多籽植物，又是多子多福的象徵。又因葫蘆諧音「福祿」，「福」又指福神，「祿」指官職祿位，有祈福求祥之意。瓷質葫蘆瓶，在唐代已現，宋、元、明、清均有生產。葫蘆瓶形制多樣，上圓下方的式樣，體現了天圓地方的道教觀念，有天地交泰之意，其成型工藝的難度，遠勝過簡單的圓器。