A chinese red glaze porcelain gourd bottle. Made in The Year of Xianfeng Reign Period of The Great Qing Dynasty.The vase has small mouth, short neck, and a smaller upper bulb compared with the lower one which gracefully terminates in a narrow, ring foot. The exterior is covered with fresh, bright, smooth and glossy red glaze. Vessels in gourd shapes are typical among traditional Chinese porcelain productions. Based on the pronunciation of “Hu Lu” (in Chinese, the character for “gourd" is homophonic with the character for “blessing"), the gourd is often connected with auspicious meanings such as abundance and fertility.
PROVENANCE:
From The Estate of?Joseph E. Bennell (1927-July 7, 2019) Cuyahoga Falls, OH. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, served in World War II, returned home, and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. He went on to receive a Master's in Education from Ohio State University (Go Buckeyes) and Indiana University. He married Carol A. Wilhite on November 23, 1952, who preceded him in death in 1988, after 36 beautiful years of marriage. After working at Kent State University for several years, he relocated his family to Springfield, Virginia, where he finished his career as the Audio Visual Coordinator for Southern Virginia Community College. He retired in 1988, and after the death of his wife, returned to Dover Delaware. He was very active in several churches and ministries over the years, including Delaware Bible Church and Centralia Presbyterian Church. Nothing made him happier than spending time with friends and sharing his wealth of knowledge and many stories of travel throughout the world and the time he spent in the service.