A rare Chinese ruby ground medallion vase, Huairentang mark, early Republic period,finely painted to three oval medallions with two quails below chrysanthemums, two black birds amid Prunus and fungus and a Cockrell by rockwork and flowers, on a ruby pink ground, the base with ‘Huai ren tang zhi' blue enamelled seal mark to base.Provenance - the vase has been in the owner's family prior to 1985.The Huairen Hall or Huairentang (Hall of Cherishedpassion) is a building inside Zhongnanhai, the Chinese government's leaderpound in Beijing. It has been the site of several major events in Chinese history. Construction of the hall began in 1885 and was overseen by Yixuan, Prince Chun. In 1888 the hall became the daily workplace of Dowager Empress Cixi, replacing the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the nearby Forbidden City. After the Boxer rebellion, Huairentang became the headquarters of occupying Eight Nation Alliance'smander Alfred von Waldersee. In 1902 Empress Cixi rebuilt Huairentang at a cost of five million taels of silver and in 1908 she died there. After the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, President Yuan Shikai used the building to meet with foreign guests and to accept New Year's day greetings. After Yuan's death, it was the site of his funeral. When Cao Kun became president, he used Huairentang as his residence. See Gerald Davison, The new and revised handbook of marks on Chinese ceramics, 2010, number 3195 for a version of this mark.Dimensions: 24cm high