A DOUCAI 'FLOWER MEDALLION' BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

well potted with flared sides rising from a slightly short foot to a gently everted rim, painted around the exterior with four medallion of lotus, peony, prunus and chrysanthemum in alternating iron-red and rose-pink enamels, divided by foliate strapworks forming cartouche panels, the interior centred with a medallion enclosing two butterflies within a double-circle repeated at the rim, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark

Acquired from a private English collection, May 2006.

There is a 6 cm. hairline crack to the rim, some expected wear and light scratches to the interior. There are some minute nicks and a couple of flakes (0.7 and 0.3 cm) to the underside of the rim. There is a 0.3 cm gap in the glaze to one of the dividing foliate strapworks on the underside. Otherwise the bowl is in 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 closely related bowl, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 202, pl. 31; another in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, is published in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1956, pl. 64 (bottom); and a third, in the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, University of Durham, is illustrated in Ireneus Laszlo Legeza, A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Malcom Macdonald Collection of Chinese Art, London, 1972, pl. CXXXIX, no. 378. Further similar examples include a bowl from the collection of Paul and Helen Bernat, sold in these rooms, 15th November 1988, lot 10; and another sold in our London rooms, 9th November 2005, lot 301.

See also a bowl pencilled with this design in underglaze blue, from the Ernst Ohlmer collection, now in the Roemer Museum, Hildesheim, illustrated in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, pl. 45, where the author mentions a further doucai example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.