A very fine pair of doucai 'lança' winecups mark and period of Yongzheng

each with steep sides and slightly everted rim, painted on the exterior in soft underglaze-blue and brilliant translucent enamels with a frieze of lança characters, each supported on a lotus bloom and divided from each other by rising slender stems with small curling leaves, above a border of multi-coloured ruyi heads around the lower part of the body, all between double underglaze-blue line borders, the reign marks inscribed within double-squares on the base

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 26th April 1993, lot 185.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27th April 1999, lot 431.

Sotheby's Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 186.

The pair is in excellent condition overall. To one cup, there is a tiny burst air bubble to the yellow of the yellow and underglaze-blue flower.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Cups of this type were made for use in the Imperial Palace with the design closely based on cups made in the Imperial Kilns at Jingdezhen during the Chenghua period (1465-1487). Chenghua porcelain was much admired by all, including the Yongzheng emperor, who by commissioning the making of such cups expressed his great admiration for Chenghua vessels. For the Chenghua original see a doucai winecup excavated from the late Chenghua stratum of the imperial kiln site at Jingdezhen, included in the exhibition A Legacy of Chenghua, The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1993, cat.no. C101, with a six-character Chenghua reign mark within a double square.

For examples of Yongzheng doucai winecups of this type see a cup from the former Imperial collection and now in Taipei, included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1980, pl. 95; others included in the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong exhibition Ch'ing Polychrome Porcelain, Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong, 1977, cat.no. 65; and in the exhibition The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, cat.no. 46, sold in these rooms, 16th May 1977, lot 139, and donated by Dr. K.S. Lo to the Museum.

See also a pair of cups, from the collection of Edward T. Chow, sold in these rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 562, published in Sotheby's Hong Kong - Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 155; and another pair, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bernat, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated in The World's Great Collections. Oriental Ceramics, vol. 10, Tokyo, 1980, pl. 255.