A FINE COPPER-RED ‘THREE FISH’ BOWL YONGZHENG MARK AND PERIOD

delicately potted with deep curved sides rising from a straight foot to a flared rim, the exterior boldly decorated with three mandarin fish in rich copper-red silhouettes, all reserved on a white ground, the interior left undecorated, inscribed to the base with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle

Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 25th April 2004, lot 303.

The bowl is in very good condition with the exception of some minor gritting to the base of the interior.
"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."

Designs in the form of underglaze-red silhouettes of animals and fish originated in the Yongle period (1403-24), when they were generally combined with underglaze-blue decoration, and by the Xuande reign (1426-35) they were often used on their own. On early Ming vessels the red fish are, however, mainly seen on stemcups and stembowls. A rare fragmentary cup with red mandarin fish, recovered from the Xuande stratum of the Ming Imperial kiln site at Jingdezhen, was included in the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming Xuande guanyao ciqi [Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen], Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 101-2.

 

After the Xuande period this style of decoration was rarely used until it was revived in the Qing dynasty. Yongzheng mark and period bowls of this form and design are held in important museums and private collections worldwide; see one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Ming Chenghua ciqi tezhan [Special exhibition of Ming Chenghua porcelain], Taipei, 1977, cat. no. 100; one in the Nanjing Museum, included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 49; another in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, published in Rose Kerr, Chinese Ceramics. Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, London, 1998, pl. 11; and a fourth from the Meiyintang collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9^th October 2012, lot 50. Compare also a bowl decorated with this design, but with a slightly more flared rim, in the Qingjiang County Museum, Jiangxi province, published in Complete Series on Chinese Ceramics, vol. 14, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 14, pl. 162.