A FINE FAMILLE-ROSE AND DOUCAI BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG |

of conical form, the steep flaring sides supported on a straight foot, brightly painted in vivid enamels within an underglaze-blue outline, the exterior depicting four medallions comprising flowers of the four seasons, namely peony, lotus, chrysanthemum and prunus, each framed and divided by stylised foliate scrolls accentuated with demi florets, the interior with a central medallion enclosing two butterflies in flight amidst floral sprays, inscribed to the base with a six-character reign mark within a double circle

A Californian private collection.
Christie's Hong Kong, 8th October 1990, lot 504.
A European private collection.
Christie's Hong Kong, 29th May 2013, lot 2113.

The bowl is in fine condition, with only a slight warp and some minor firing imperfections.
"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 remarkable for its delicately painted floral roundels in a novel combination of famille-rose enamels and doucai palette. While inspired by doucai porcelain of the Chenghua period (1465-1487), this bowl was given a fresh modern look through its dramatic flared shape and the delicate enamelling of the flowers, which displays an exceptional attention to details. Two doucai bowls with Chenghua marks and of the period, painted with stylised floral roundels similarly separated by leafy scrolls, were recovered from the Chenghua strata at the site of the imperial kiln factory in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, and illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty II, Beijing, 2016, pls 155 and 156.   Each floral roundel on this piece is painted with the flowers of the four seasons – peony, lotus, chrysanthemum, and prunus. This grouping first emerged in the Song dynasty (960-1279) and became a popular porcelain pattern from the Yuan period (1279-1368).

A closely related bowl in the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 31; another in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, is published in Sekai tōji zenshū/ Catalogue of World's Ceramics, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1956, pl. 64 bottom; a third, in the Meiyintang collection, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. IV, pt. II, no. 1747; and an additional example, 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. 

This motif is also found painted in underglaze blue, such as a Yongzheng mark and period bowl from the Ernst Ohlmer collection, now in the Roemer Museum, Hildesheim, illustrated in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, pl. 45.