A RARE UNDERGLAZE-RED BOWL MING DYNASTY, HONGWU PERIOD

the deep rounded sides supported on a short straight foot, vividly painted on the interior with a central medallion enclosing a leafy peony spray and an attendant bud within a double-line border, surrounded by a chrysanthemum scroll on the walls, all below a band of key-fret at the rim, the exterior similarly painted with a leafy peony scroll wreathed by a foliate stem between key-fret borders at the rim and foot, the red varying in shades from a vivid purplish tone to a pale reddish-grey, the base glazed

Sotheby’s New York, 28th May 1991, lot 218.

Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d’Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 104.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 645.

The mouthrim has four hairlines, including a 1 cm one at 11 o'clock, 5.5 cm to 12 o'clock both visible on both the exterior and interior, as well as two other restored ones of 3 cm and 0.8 cm at approx 10 o'clock and 7 o'clock respectively. The mouthrim has other small areas which have been slightly restored, possibly to stabilise the fritting. The bowl is covered with fine glaze crackles, probably filled in with wax. The glaze surface has some wear. The actual colour is slightly paler and more tinged with brown than 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."

A copper-red painted bowl of similar size and decoration, formerly in the collection of W.W. Winkworth and now the collection of the Hon. Kate Trevelyan, on loan to the British Museum, is illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 91, fig. 1.

Three fragments of similar underglaze-red painted bowls in the Palace Museum, Beijing, are included in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui [Selection of ancient ceramic material from the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, pls. 79-81, one of very similar design as the present bowl, where it is stated, p. 106, that this type matches sherds excavated from the remains of the Ming imperial palace in Nanjing. Bowls of this type are more frequently found with a flared rim; for a complete piece in the Palace Museum, Beijing, from the Qing court collection see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 1, pl. 222.

Another flared bowl in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, is illustrated in Mingdai chunian ciqi tezhan mulu/Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Early Ming Period Porcelain, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, cat. no. 51; one in the National Museum of China, Beijing, is illustrated in Zhongguo Guojia Bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu congshu/Studies on the Collections of the National Museum of China. Ciqi juan [Porcelain section], Mingdai [Ming dynasty], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 8; and one in the Shanghai Museum in Lu Minghua, Shanghai Bowuguan zangpin yanjiu daxi/Studies of the Shanghai Museum Collections : A Series of Monographs. Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 1-1, together with a blue-and-white counterpart with straight sides, pl. 3-7.

A misfired blue-and-white version of this design on a bowl with slightly flared rim was excavated from the waste heaps of the kiln site at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, and included in the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming chu guanyao ciqi/Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 14.