Lot 3118. A pair of ruby-red glazed bowls, Marks and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 9.3 cm., 3 5/8  in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,200,000 HKD. Lot Sold 1,840,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's 2013.

each delicately potted with gently rounded shallow sides rising from a narrow tapered foot, applied on the exterior with a ruby-red glaze of deep crushed raspberry tone subtly suffused with darker specks and textured with a faint 'orange-peel' effect, the interior left white, the countersunk base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within double circles.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 2nd December 1993, lot 305.

Note: A closely related pair of bowls is published in The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 25; another pair was sold in our New York rooms, 26thMarch 1996, lot 189; and a third pair, from the estate of John B. Trevor, was sold at Christie’s New York, 19th September 2007, lot 340. For a slightly smaller cup of this type see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 303, pl. 132; another sold in these rooms, 12th/13th May 1976, lot 210; and a pair sold at Christie’s New York, 3rd December 1992, lot 313. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong | 08 Oct 2013