- 3180
A PAIR OF GREEN-AND-AUBERGINE BOWLS MARKS AND PERIOD OF KANGXI
Estimate
1,800,000 - 2,500,000 HKD
bidding is closed
Description
each bowl with steep rounded sides rising gently towards a flared rim, painted on the exterior with two five-clawed dragons chasing 'flaming pearls' among clouds and flames, above rocks and waves, the designs all finely incised and picked out in aubergine enamel against a bright green ground, the interior and the base left white, the latter inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within double circles
Exhibited
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. 165.
Literature
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 888.
Condition
Each bowl has a 5 mm hairline from the rim. The glaze is 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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
According to Chuimei Ho and Bennet Bronson, the Qianlong Emperor dined rarely together with his family, but did so on the occasion of the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the New Year. On this occasion the ladies who dined with him were provided with precisely prescribed ceramic and lacquer utensils according to their rank. Green-glazed porcelains with purple dragons were then apparently reserved for sixth-rank guiren consorts (Splendours of China's Forbidden City. The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, The Field Museum, Chicago, 2004, pp. 197-202).
Two-coloured 'dragon' bowls and dishes of this type were made throughout the Qing dynasty, starting in the Kangxi reign, but Kangxi examples tend to be extremely rare. The present colour combination is also known from Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Guangxu examples, and perhaps others, the largest number dating from the Daoguang period.
A similar Kangxi bowl but of different proportions, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui [Selection of ancient ceramic material from the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2005, vol. 2, pl. 88; another in the Shanghai Museum is published in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 196; two others from the collection of Helen and Peter Lin were included in the exhibition Joined Colours. Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1993, cat. nos. 19 and 20. A larger Kangxi bowl with less flared rim, also decorated with dragons in the same colour scheme, is in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics. A New Standard Guide, London, 1996, pl. 615; another larger bowl was included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain from the 15th to the 18th Century, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2006, cat. no.11.
Two-coloured 'dragon' bowls and dishes of this type were made throughout the Qing dynasty, starting in the Kangxi reign, but Kangxi examples tend to be extremely rare. The present colour combination is also known from Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Guangxu examples, and perhaps others, the largest number dating from the Daoguang period.
A similar Kangxi bowl but of different proportions, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui [Selection of ancient ceramic material from the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2005, vol. 2, pl. 88; another in the Shanghai Museum is published in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 196; two others from the collection of Helen and Peter Lin were included in the exhibition Joined Colours. Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1993, cat. nos. 19 and 20. A larger Kangxi bowl with less flared rim, also decorated with dragons in the same colour scheme, is in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics. A New Standard Guide, London, 1996, pl. 615; another larger bowl was included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain from the 15th to the 18th Century, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2006, cat. no.11.