A PAIR OF YELLOW-GROUND GREEN-ENAMELED 'BOYS' BOWLS YONGZHENG MARKS AND PERIOD

each with deep rounded sides rising from a straight foot to a flared rim, finely incised with eight boys playing various musical instruments within a balustraded garden beneath pine trees, with overlapping lappets at the foot and a border of flower designs at the rim, the design picked out in brilliant apple-green enamel against a yellow ground, six-character marks in underglaze blue within double circles, with stands (4)

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., New York, 1980s.

One bowl is broken in several pieces and restored. The other has a short hairline crack from the rim.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Yellow-ground bowls decorated in green enamel with children at play are held in important museum and private collections worldwide; for example, see a bowl in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, included in the Museum’s exhibition The Wonders of the Potter’s Palette, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 56; a pair illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 944; one in the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 2, 1994, no. 895; another published in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 103; and a fifth bowl of slightly larger size, in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 62. Further bowls sold in in our Hong Kong rooms include one from the Goldschmidt collection, 13th November 1990, the Hall family collection, 2nd May 2000, lot 535, one on 9th October 2007, lot 1610, one on 8th October 2008, lot 2511, a pair on 5th October 2011, lot 2126 and a single one on 8th October 2014, lot 3702.

Yongzheng mark and period bowls of this type, which are also known from the Kangxi period (1661-1722), were inspired by Ming (1368-1644) prototypes. Soame Jenyns in Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1953, notes that reproductions of these wares is mentioned on the list of porcelain supplied to the court, compiled in 1729 by Tang Ying (1682-1756), the future director of the Jingdezhen Imperial kilns (see p. 103). A Jiajing prototype of closely related design, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum. Chia Ch’ing Ware, Lung Ch’ing Ware, Wan Li Ware, vol. 3, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 48; another of slightly larger size in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 7, Tokyo, 1981, fig. 77.