Lot 23. A rare large blue and white bowl, Mark and period of Xuande (1426-1435); 24.2 cm., 9 1/2  in. Estimate 1,800,000 - 2,500,000 HKD (177,722 — 246,836 EUR). Lot sold 2,920,000 HKD (288,305 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's

the steep rounded sides supported on a thick slightly tapered foot, finely painted in well-graded shades of cobalt, the interior with a slightly recessed medallion enclosing a spray of leafy peony and attendant bud within a double-line border, surrounded by sprays of persimmon, cherry, loquat, peach, crab-apple and pomegranate around the sides, all below a border of tiny sprigs of lotus, camellia, gardenia, blossoming peach, chrysanthemum and another small six-petalled bloom at the rim, the exterior painted with a broad lotus scroll between borders of 'classic' scroll at the rim and key-fret on the foot, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double ring.

PROVENANCE: Collection of George Eumorfopoulos (1863-1939).
Sotheby’s London, 29th May 1940, lot 247.
Collection of W.W. Winkworth (1897-1991).
Sotheby’s London 12th December 1972, lot 44.
Collection of J.T. Tai (1911-1992).
Christie’s New York, 1st June 1990, lot 182.

LITTERATURE: Soame Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1953, pl. 33B.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 669.

NOTE: Bowls of this deep U-shape decorated with a combination of flowers and fruits were highly popular in the Yongle reign (1403-24) and are much rarer with Xuande reign marks. Bowls with several variations of these designs and of various sizes are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 1, pls. 62, 63, 65, 66, 68, all unmarked and attributed to the Yongle period. The present combination of flowers and fruits is rarely seen.

Sotheby's. The Meiyintang Collection, Part V - An Important Selection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains. Hong Kong | 08 avr. 2013