A fine and very rare blue-glazed saucer dish, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period. Photo courtesy Bonhams

Covered all over in a rich midnight blue leaving the extremities with a thinner layer of glaze, the base with a six-character Imperial kaishu seal mark in underglaze-blue within double circles. 15.6cm diam. Estimate HK$ 450,000 - 550,000 (€43,000 - 53,000)

The Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) successfully re-established the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen around 1680 after a long period of civil strife in China. The porcelain kilns were originally destroyed in 1675 but were quickly restored. Much porcelain manufactured during this period is decorated with a clear and transparent underglazed-blue, where cobalt blue was subtly applied in varying degrees of saturation to create depth and volume. 

To make Imperial blue and white porcelain during the Kangxi period as exhibited by the current lot, cobalt blue pigments are applied directly with a brush onto the unglazed biscuit, then glazed and finally fired. The porcelain would remain black before firing due to the richness of the cobalt blue pigments applied on the surface, before finally developing the range of blue tones on firing. The current lot has achieved a unique deep and pulsating sapphire blue colour which demonstrates a generous amount of cobalt blue pigment. 

Legend states that the Kangxi Emperor issued an Imperial decree ordering that no piece of porcelain with his Imperial seal mark was to be made for non-Palace use, for he was very superstitious and believed that it would bring him bad luck should one of the Imperial porcelains break. This further shows the rarity of the current lot which is in perfect condition and bears the Imperial six-character seal mark. 

Compare a similar but larger example of a blue-glazed dish also with Kangxi six-character mark in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty. The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p.112. 

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART. Hong Kong. 24 Nov 2013 14:00 CST