AN EXTREMELY RARE RUBY-GROUND FAMILLE-ROSE 'FLOWER' BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

the delicately potted sides enamelled on the exterior with a variety of exotic flowers including pink, yellow, and blue peonies clustered around the foot, yellow lilies, green mallow flowers, and other exotic blooms in bright enamels, all on a crushed raspberry toned ground, the base inscribed in underglaze blue within in double square with a four-character reign mark reading Yongzheng nianzhi

T. Y. Chao Family Foundation. 
Christie's Hong Kong, 27th April 1997, lot 55.

Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1978, cat.no. 99.
Min Chiu Society Silver Jubilee Exhibition, An Anthology of Chinese Art, 1985, cat.no. 177.

The bowl is in very good condition with only a faint 6mm body line (not a hairline) beneath the glaze and a couple very minute enamel flakes. The actual colour is a touch deeper and a little more purple than in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

Bowls of this size and decoration are extremely rare, although a similar bowl with the mark Yongzheng nianzhi in the Asian Art Musem of San Francisco, is illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics, London, 1996, cat.no.657.   These types of bowls are found both with yuzhi marks as well as nianzhi marks as with the present lot. 

In the Kangxi period, dark coloured grounds were favoured to show off the new falancai enamels, which later evolved to white grounds.  A few bowls, such as the present lot retained their dark ground.  Both in its shape and style, this bowl reflect the Kangxi style. 

Compare a similar bowl of similar size also from the T.Y. Chao Family Collection, sold in these rooms, 18th November 1986, lot 130.  A slightly larger version in the British Museum, is illustrated in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command, 1977, pl. 5, attributed to the Jingdezhen Imperial kilns between 1722 and 1728. 

Similar designed bowls of a slightly larger form, are found on a ruby-ground bowl with a six-character reign mark sold in these rooms 29th November 1978, lot 371 and another one from the Goldschmidt collection, 13th November 1990, lot 38.  Another similar one from the E.C. Blake collection sold in our London rooms, 8th July 1958, lot 109, and again in our Hong Kong rooms 12th May 1983, lot 238 and 26th October 2003, lot 120.