A FINE BLUE AND WHITE 'LOTUS' (LIANZI) BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF XUANDE

of conical form, finely potted in the shape of a lotus bud (lianzi), with deep rounded sides and a pointed base resting on a cylindrical foot, delicately painted in soft shaded tones of cobalt, the interior with a central medallion enclosing a formal quatrefoil leaf-like motif encircled by a border of florets and strokes, and further wreathed by elaborate strapwork repeating the central motif around the sides, all below a band of cash diaper at the rim, the exterior picked out with a row of elongated petal lappets surrounding the base, below a broad plain white band and set between two key-fret borders at the rim and foot, the convex base inscribed  in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double ring

John Sparks Ltd, London (April 1939).
Collection of R.H.R. Palmer (1898-1970)(no. 532).
Christie’s Hong Kong, 17th January 1989, lot 571.
Collection of Toguri Tōru, Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo.
Sotheby’s London, 9th June 2004, lot 27.
Eskenazi Ltd., London.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1648.

The bowl is overall in very good condition.
"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 very similar piece in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, was included in the exhibition Mingdai Xuande guanyao jinghua tezhan tulu/Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 157; a second example in the same museum in the exhibition Ming Xuande ciqi tezhan [Special exhibition of Ming Xuande porcelain], National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1980, cat. no. 43; a similar bowl in the Beijing Art Museum is published in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], Shanghai, 1999-2000, vol. 12, pl. 66. A Xuande example of this design is also illustrated in A.D. Brankston, Early Ming Wares of Chingtechen, Beijing, 1938, pl. 13d, where the underside is compared to that of an unmarked Yongle example, pl. 7 c and d.

A Yongle version with pointed base in the Shanghai Museum is published 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. 5-18, together with a Kangxi copy of a Xuande-marked example, pl. 5-17; and a copy of Kangxi mark and period in the same museum is published in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], Shanghai, 1999-2000, vol. 14, pl. 43 ; another Yongle prototype in the British Museum, London, is published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, no. 3: 29.

Compare also a similar Xuande bowl from the collection of Major Lindsay F. Hay, sold in our London rooms 16th June 1939, lot 103, and again from the Lionel Edwards collection, 8th February 1945, lot 85; another from the George Eumorfopoulos collection sold in our London rooms, 29th May 1940, lot 222.