China. The lobed body raised on a splayed foot and surmounted by a cylindrical neck flanked by tubular lugs, incised with a band of key-fret above the foot, and covered in a pale celadon glazed overall, pooling in the recesses. The recessed base with an underglaze-blue six-character mark da Qing Qianlong nianzhi.

Provenance: Lempertz Cologne, May 1967. The private collection of Erich R., acquired from the above and thence by direct descent to his son Prof. Dr. Peter R. A copy of the original collection notes written by Erich R., together with an old photograph of the present lot, accompanies this lot. Erich R. was a German government official who lived in Himmelstadt, Bavaria. His son Prof. Dr. Peter R. is a faculty member of the department of history at the Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai. His research focuses on the history of science in the fields of cultural and social anthropology, African studies, and Oriental studies.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities, a hairline crack to the upper rim and a star crack to the base.

Weight: 2.7 kg
Dimensions: Height 38.9 cm

The form of this vase is inspired by archaic bronze vessels used for touhu (lit. ‘pitch-pot’), a traditional East Asian game that requires players to throw arrows or sticks from a set distance into a large, sometimes ornate, vessel. The game had originated by the Warring States period, probably invented by archers or soldiers as a pastime during idle periods. It began as a game of skill or a drinking game at parties, but by the time it was described in a chapter of the Chinese Classic Book of Rites, it had acquired Confucian moral overtones. Initially popular among elites, it spread to other classes and remained popular in China until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Touhu was usually a contest between players, who had to throw arrows into the mouth or tubular handles of the vase, which was placed at an equal distance between two mats on which the players knelt. Touhu vases continued to be produced in the Song dynasty and later, made in various materials including bronze, cloisonné, and ceramic.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams San Francisco, 15 December 2009, lot 8290
Price: USD 4,575 or approx. EUR 6,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A celadon glazed porcelain arrow vase, Qianlong Mark, 19th Century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, glaze, Qianlong mark, and size (36 cm).