A FINE AND VERY RARE LIME-GREEN GROUND 'MALLOW FLOWER' BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

finely potted and moulded with eight-lobed sides rising from a short foot to a wide everted rim resembling a mallow-flower blossom, the overlapping petals divided by undulating edges issuing from a band of raised pointed sepals forming the calyx with corresponding recesses around the interior of the bowl, covered overall with a bright lime-green enamel, the base left white and inscribed in underglaze blue with an six-character reign mark within double circles

Apart from typical light scratches to the surface glaze on the interior, the bowl is in very good overall condition. The catalogue illustration is slightly bluish than the actual colour.
"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 is notable for its large size and only one other of related dimensions appears to have been published, but covered in a yellow glaze, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th October 2003, lot 703. Bowls of this type, but of smaller size, include a green glazed example like the present lot, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, published in Rose Kerr, Chinese Ceramics. Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, London, 1986, pl. 92 (top); a white-glazed bowl in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum], vol. 1, pt. II, Beijing, 2005, pl. 96; and a pair of lemon-yellow bowls, from the E.T. Hall collection, sold at Christie’s London, 7th June 2004, lot 277.

Compare also a small white-glazed cup, similarly moulded but with shorter petals above the foot and incised details on the overlapping mallow-flower petals, included in the exhibition The Wonders of the Potter’s Palette. Qing Ceramics from the Collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 58.