A FINE AND RARE UNDERGLAZE-RED CUP STAND MING DYNASTY, HONGWU PERIOD

thickly moulded with a domed ring in the centre surrounding a recessed well encircled by a lobed cavetto and an everted barbed rim, painted in a dark greyish copper red with a peony spray in the centre, bordered by a thin petal band on the raised ring and a finely painted chrysanthemum scroll, the cavetto with eight formal lotus sprays, all bound by a band of classic scroll on the rim and key-fret along the edge, the exterior decorated with petal panels, all beneath a pale bluish-tinged glaze, the base left unglazed

Collection of Edward T. Chow.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25th November 1980, lot 44.
Private Collection, Hong Kong.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 17th May 1988, lot 13.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 644.

The overall condition is very good with a couple of minor glaze gaps. The copper-red has fired to a typical grey - black.
"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."

Cup stands of this flat dish shape with a raised ring in the centre were developed in the Yuan dynasty and replaced earlier, taller and often ring-shaped supports. In the Hongwu period the shape, crisply formed in twin moulds, became more distinct and is known both from copper-red and cobalt-blue painted examples. It is not known, however, what kind of cups would have been used together with these stands. Although one fragmentary cup has been published together with a stand of this form, both painted in underglaze blue, in the exhibition catalogue Jingdezhen chutu Ming chu guanyao ciqi/Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. nos 17 and 18, the small size of that piece seems ill proportioned compared to the solidly made stands, and no such cups are otherwise extant in any case. The porcelain cup stand may rather have been used together with drinking vessels of precious metal that might not have survived.

A copper-red decorated cup stand with a similar, but more densely spaced design, from the collection of Sir Percival and Lady David, illustrated in J.M. Addis, 'A Group of Underglaze Red', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 31, 1957-9, pl. 2a, was sold in our London rooms, 5th December 1961, lot 33, and again 10th November 1964, lot 72; another from the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics. A New Standard Guide, London, 1996, pl. 393; and a closely related piece with a camellia instead of the peony spray in the centre, from the Richard Bryant Hobart and John D. Rockefeller 3rd collections and now in the Asia Society, New York, is published in Denise Patry Leidy, Treasures of Asian Art. The Asia Society's Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, New York, 1994, pl. 164, and was sold in our New York rooms, 23rd May 1969, lot 103. A blue and white counterpart, also from the Edward T. Chow collection is illustrated in Helen D. Ling and E.T. Chow, Complete Collection of Ming Dynasty Kingtehchen Porcelain from the Hall of Disciplined Learning, Hong Kong, 1950, vol. I, pl. 5.