A RARE PAIR OF IRON-RED-GLAZED 'LEAPING CARP' VASES Qianlong Each vase naturalistically formed as a carp with wide open mouth leaping upwards off a curved tail from a sea of frothing waves, the fins and scales moulded and painted in gradations of iron red heightened in gilt. 24cm (9 1/2in) high. (2). Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 清乾隆 礬紅鯉魚躍龍門瓶一對 According to traditional folklore, carp (liyu) swim upstream in the Yellow River at Hunan towards the Dragon Gate waterfall at Longmen. It is said that the first carp which successfully overcomes the rapids will transform into a fish-dragon yulong. Such legend has led to the common saying that, 'a student facing his examinations is like a carp attempting to leap through the Dragon Gate', serving as a metaphor for the ability to achieve high office. See a pair of related carp vases, Jiaqing circa 1800, illustrated in D.S. Howard, The Choice of the Private Trader: the private market in Chinese export porcelain illustrated from the Hodroff collection, London, 1994, p.281, no.340. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing