A FINELY PAINTED CORAL-GROUND 'FAMILLE-VERTE' FLORAL BOWL YUZHI MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

finely potted with deep rounded sides rising to a flared rim, richly and freely decorated around the sides with flowering blooms including peony, lily, camelia and crab-apple, the luscious blooms picked-out in shaded tones of blue, pale-yellow, lime-green and lavender, encompassed by slender stems with a myriad of leaves in two shades of green interspersed with tight and opening buds, all reserved on a rich coral-red ground, the interior and base glazed white, inscribed on the base with the four-chacter mark in underglaze-blue within a double-square

Christie's New York, 1st June 1990, lot 319.
Sotheby's New York, 23rd March 1999, lot 398.
Christie's Hong Kong, 1st November 2004, lot 892.

There is a small area near the base of the bowl which has been slightly touched up, of approx 0.8 by 0.1cm. Otherwise the piece is in very good condition overall. Updated condition report: The touched up area is much smaller than previously mentioned in the condition report. There is a glaze flake 2mm x 1 mm on the purple flower petal that has been filled-in. There is also two faint lines in the coral ground that appears to be an original firing flaw that has been filled-in. This re-touching appears to be original with the piece and was done at the time of manufacture.
"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."

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.  These bowls were made for the use of the Yongzheng emperor and bear the Yongzheng yuzhi marks.

A similar size bowl is illustrated in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command, 1977, pl. 5, attributed to the Jingdezhen Imperial kilns between 1722 and 1728.  Bowls with this decoration of a mélange of flowers in this size 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. 

Compare a two similar ruby-ground bowls of smaller size from the T.Y. Chao Family Collection: one sold in these rooms, 18th November 1986, lot 130 and another sold in our rooms 11th April 2008, lot 3022.  And another related 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.