Size: 6.5 cm.(L)
The plaque is of flat double gourd outline, inscribed in blue enamel on the front with the characters' zhai jie', upon overall seeded green and yellow grounds, between a pair of pink bats flying among fruiting and flowering gourd tendrils, the reverse similarly decorated around the corresponding inscription in Manchu, on a seeded yellow ground, the ridged gilt rim pierced from top to bottom for suspension from a belt.
PROVENANCE:
Formerly in a Japanese Private Collection
Plaques like this were worn during periods of fasting, the term ‘zhaijie’ refers to the requirement for abstinence for three days prior to worshipping of ancestors, Heaven or other gods. Abstinence plaques were made in various materials, including jade, bamboo, painted enamel and porcelain.
Compare similar double-gourd form abstinence plaques, see: 1, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th October 2008, lot 2611. 2, Christie's New York, 15th September 2011, lot 1213, originally from the Rende Zhai Collection. 3, Sotheby's New York, 13 September 2017, lot145.