- 6
A BLUE AND WHITE LOBED 'SANDUO' BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF XUANDE, WITH LATER ADDED IRON-RED ENAMEL |
Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 HKD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- 22.8 cm, 9 in.
of conical form, the flared sides rising from a short foot to a six-lobed rim, the interior painted in underglaze blue with a central medallion containing a flowering and fruiting peach branch, surrounded by three sprigs of lotus flowers alternating with sprays of tree peony, chrysanthemum and herbaceous peony, all beneath a row of small floral sprigs at the rim, the exterior similarly decorated with detached sprays of fruits and flowers, the foot encircled with a classic scroll, the base inscribed with a Xuande reign mark within a double circle
Provenance
Collection of Emil Hultmark (1872-1943), and thence by descent in the family.
Condition
There are two restorations to the rim, one approx. 1cm flake showing on the catalogue photo, which has been restored with a larger area of overspray showing under UV; the other with a small chip about 0.5cm (showing at approx. 10 o'clock on the catalogue photo)also with overspray. With expected light scratches and wear to the glaze and the red enamels showing in area on the underside near the foot.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Whereas Yongle blue and white is still characterised by many large items created for export, in the Xuande reign the products of the imperial workshops were geared for the imperial house both in size and in taste, exquisitely finished and inscribed with the imperial reign mark.
Other Xuande mark and period blue and white bowls rendered in this design, include one from the Woodthorpe collection, sold in our London rooms 5th June 1956, lot 112, together with a bowl from the collection of Sir Harry and Lady Garner, sold in our London rooms, 21st November 1961, lot 36, both included in Mostra d’Arte Cinese/Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. nos 642 and 643; and another from the Pilkington collection, sold more recently in these rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 20. Bowls of this design are also preserved in the two Palace Museums, including one from the Qing court collection, illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue and white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 2, pl. 146; two such bowls in the Taipei Palace Museum were included in the Museum’s exhibitions Ming Xuande ciqi tezhan mulu/Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Hsuan-te Period Porcelain, Taipei, 1980, no.36, and Mingdai Xuande guanyao jinghua tezhan tulu/Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, no. 62.
The iron-red enamel ground on this bowl appears to be a later addition, also because no other example of such bowl with an iron-red ground is published. In fact, Xuande mark and period vessels adorned with an iron-red ground are exceedingly rare, the only recorded example appears to be a jardinière excavated in 1988 from the imperial kiln site in Zhushan (fig. 1), illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty: A Comparison of Porcelains from the Imperial Kiln Site At Jingdezhen and the Imperial Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2015, no. 95. More commonly, however, iron red is employed as part of the painted decoration, as seen on two iron-red and underglaze-blue dragon bowls in the Taipei Palace Museum, published in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. 1,Tokyo, 1977, pls 96 and 97, where the red is used to define the waves and the dragons respectively.
Other Xuande mark and period blue and white bowls rendered in this design, include one from the Woodthorpe collection, sold in our London rooms 5th June 1956, lot 112, together with a bowl from the collection of Sir Harry and Lady Garner, sold in our London rooms, 21st November 1961, lot 36, both included in Mostra d’Arte Cinese/Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. nos 642 and 643; and another from the Pilkington collection, sold more recently in these rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 20. Bowls of this design are also preserved in the two Palace Museums, including one from the Qing court collection, illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue and white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 2, pl. 146; two such bowls in the Taipei Palace Museum were included in the Museum’s exhibitions Ming Xuande ciqi tezhan mulu/Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Hsuan-te Period Porcelain, Taipei, 1980, no.36, and Mingdai Xuande guanyao jinghua tezhan tulu/Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, no. 62.
The iron-red enamel ground on this bowl appears to be a later addition, also because no other example of such bowl with an iron-red ground is published. In fact, Xuande mark and period vessels adorned with an iron-red ground are exceedingly rare, the only recorded example appears to be a jardinière excavated in 1988 from the imperial kiln site in Zhushan (fig. 1), illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty: A Comparison of Porcelains from the Imperial Kiln Site At Jingdezhen and the Imperial Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2015, no. 95. More commonly, however, iron red is employed as part of the painted decoration, as seen on two iron-red and underglaze-blue dragon bowls in the Taipei Palace Museum, published in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. 1,Tokyo, 1977, pls 96 and 97, where the red is used to define the waves and the dragons respectively.