An extremely rare imperial 'famille rose' bowl with exotic flowers on a yellow ground. Underglaze blue six-character mark Qianlong and of the period. photo Nagel Auctions

The bowl has widely flared rounded sides mand lipped rim, and is supported on a cylindrical footring. The exterior is elaborately decoarted in 'Famille rose' enemals on a brilliant lemon-yellow ground with an exotic flower scroll bearing four large flower heads, all different types. These comprise a double poppy with rings of feathery red petals, a flower with an outer ring of shaded pink lotus-like petals surrounding narrow, bright red petals in the centre, a lily with flecked and shaded pink petals and another fanciful flower. The interior is painted with five flying bats, the wufu, delicately shaded in tones of iron-red. The six character mark is unusually written in kaishu script arranged ín three columns enclosed by a double square.

The only other published bowl with that extremely rare mark known to us is published in 'Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain Collection of Three Chinese Emperors - A Selection from the Wang Xing Lou Collection', Hongkong 2004, no. 57

Yellow-ground famille rose floral bowls of this pattern on the exterior and with five iron-red bats to the interior, appear to have developed from the Qianlong reign.

A Qianlong-marked example in the British Museum Collection is illustrated by H. Moss. By Imperial Command, Hong Kong, 1976, pl. 6.

A Jiaqing-marked bowl from the Qing Court Collection, is illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, p. 205, no. 181. It has been recorded that a large quantity of these yellow-ground bowls were made as early as the second year of the Qianlong reign, ibid, p. 205.

A number of Daoguang-marked examples are published including the bowl from the Yangzhitang Collection, sold at Christie's Singapore, 30 March 1997, lot 276; in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, 1982, vol. 11, no. 163; and another bowl illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, 1999, p. 234, no. 338 (A630).

Tiny restored chip to mouth rim, good condition. D. 15 cm - Estimate 50 000 / 70 000 € 

Nagel Auctions. Asian Art. November 3rd 2011. www.auction.de