A FINE CARVED CELADON-GLAZED BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

the deep rounded sides rising from a flared foot to an everted rim, finely carved with a band of six upright ruyi lappets enclosing ruyi heads alternating with smaller 'fishtail' lappets and emerging from a band of petal panels around the foot, further incised with a band of key-fret below the rim, applied overall with a fine celadon glaze thinning on the carved decoration revealing the white body beneath and pooling to a richer blue-green hue at the recesses, the base similarly glazed and inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within double circles   

Sotheby's New York, 5th November 1977, lot 227.
Sotheby's New York, 28th November 1978, lot 197.
Hall Family Collection, inventory no. 392.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2nd May 2000, lot 527.

Sotheby's Hong Kong Twenty Years, Hong Kong, 1993, no. 314.

The bowl is in overall very good condition. There are a few minor occasional grey or stain spots in the glaze on the interior. There are a few light scratches. The colour of the bowl is a slightly lighter greenish colour in 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."

This bowl, with its elegant carved band and covered overall in a beautiful celadon glaze, is amongst the finest Yongzheng mark and period vessels made in the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. It belongs to a special group of celadon-glazed bowls, all of similar form and size but with varying design bands positioned either at the foot or around the middle of the exterior, made on the order of the Qing court to cater to the emperor’s sophisticated taste and fondness for elegant monochrome wares. This bowl is particularly distinct from the other bowls of this group as it has been potted with a short flared foot rather than the typical straight or slightly tapering foot.    

A closely related bowl, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was included in the museum’s Memorial Exhibition The Charles B. Hoyt Collection, Boston, 1952, cat. no. 440; one was sold in these rooms, 20^th May 1981, lot 819, its companion piece was also offered, lot 820; and another was sold at Christie’s Tokyo, 15^th February, lot 1981.

Bowls of this type continued to be made in the Guangxu period; see one included in the exhibition Imperial Porcelain of Late Ch’ing from the Kwan Collection, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1985, cat. no 149, and sold at Christie’s New York, 20^th September 2002, lot 375; and a pair from the collection of Jorge Getulio Veiga, sold in our London rooms, 31^st October 1989, lot 6.

For further Yongzheng celadon-glazed bowls of this type, see one carved with a scrolling band of peonies and feathery leaves, from the Hall Family collection and sold in our London rooms, 16^th May 2012, lot 168; a bowl moulded with a band of the bajixiang, sold twice in these rooms, 22^nd May 1985, lot 213, and 29^th April 1997, lot 570; and another decorated with a band of archaistic dragons, offered in our London rooms, 21^st June 1983, lot 337.