A PAIR OF 'VALENTINE-PATTERN' INITIALED CYLINDRICAL WINE COOLERS Qianlong period, circa 1755 The slightly waisted cylindrical vessel with numerous barely noticeable vertical lobes and painted in pastel 'rose' enamels in a continuous scene around the vessel with a version of the so-called valentine pattern, one side depicting paired kissing doves, a bow and a quiver of arrows alongside a column-form altar with a double flaming heart and a formal flower arrangement beneath a fruiting tree, with a butterfly above and a faintly-sketched open-winged goose floating in the middle distance, the scene continues to the other side and centered by a similar fruiting tree bedecked with floral swags and an oval cartouche with the initials FB or HB on a blue ground, beneath which lie two ribboned halberds, a shepherdess's hat and a shepherds bagpipes to one side and two seated dogs to the other near fenced rockwork and with further dogs in the middle distance with mountains beyond, above flies a colorful duck, further rockwork and flowers frame and conjoin the scenes, simple shallow scallop handles below a slightly bulging neck and rim with iron-red scrolls and gilt bands echoed at the slightly spreading foot. 10in (25cm) across handles (2). Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1755年 釉上彩描金《愛神圖》與姓名字首冰酒桶一對 See footnote to lot 112 for an explanation of this surprisingly complicated and allusive European design, containing several symbols drawn from the Classical European tradition associated with the Roman God of Love, Cupid, and referring to expressions of romantic love. The name Cupid comes from Roman mythology, deriving from the Latin verb cupere which means 'to desire'. The earlier 'romantic mythological' precursor in Greece was worshipped as the God Eros. This pattern appears on a small range of export wares. The origins however are unclear, though it has been suggested that it was produced for Lord Anson in 1743 and based on a drawing by Sir Piercy Brett who was a lieutenant on Anson's flagship HMS Centurion on her 1740-44 voyage to Guangzhou (Canton). Certainly, by the time this service was produced it appears to have become a more widely used design. For other examples with the valentine pattern, see Litzenberg, 2003, p. 221; Howard, 1994, no. 134, a two-jug set; Beurdeley, 1962, no. 109, a mug; and Jorg, 1989, nos. 22 and 100.