A Chinese Export  Blue Enamel and Gilt soup tureen, cover and  stanf, circa 1840.  Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2012

Enameled with court figures alternate with dragons chasing a flaming pearl, gilt front and back with a roundel enclosing the name Jin Neng Heng, surmounted by a flower-head finial; 15 7/8 in. (40.3 cm.) wide, the stand (3).  Estimate $8,000 - $12,000 

Provenance: With Elinor Gordon, Villanova, PA. 

Notes: Jin Neng Heng was the Chinese name of the American businessman Edward Cunningham (1823-1889), founder of the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company and the managing director of Russell & Co. in Shanghai. Russell & Co. was the largest trading house in China from 1842 until its closure in 1891.

Christie's. Chinese Export Art. 23 January 2012. New York, Rockefeller Plaza www.christies.com