Lot 3002. A rare copper-red decorated 'Chrysanthemum' cupstand, Ming dynasty, Hongwu period. Estimate 3,000,000 — 4,000,000 HKD. Unsold. Photo: Sotheby's.

finely potted with sixteen shallow lobed sides rising to a barbed everted rim divided into eight equal bracket foliations, the lobes separated by an alternating ridge and indentation on the interior and exterior, decorated overall in underglaze copper-red of pale maroon-red tone, the central cup-holder with a radiating ruyi-head motif encircled by a raised bevelled border picked out with small lappets and a band of chrysanthemum scroll within double lines, all below eight sprays of formal lotus viewed from different angles on the lobed sides corresponding to the bracket foliations at the rim, a classic scroll band bordering the rim, the lobed underside painted with a lappet of upright petals enclosing a pendant motif, all below a key-fret band bordering the outer rim, the slightly recessed base left unglazed and burnt orange in the firing; 19.6 cm., 7 3/4 in. 

Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd., London.

Exhibited: Twenty Five Years: Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Gilt Bronzes, Inlaid Bronzes, Silver, Jades, Ceramics, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1985, cat. no. 27.
Chinese Art from the Reach Family Collection, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1989, cat. no. 31.

Note: A closely related cupstand in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai , is published in Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red. Elegant Decoration on Porcelain of Yuan, Ming and Qing, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 41; another from the Manno Art Museum, Osaka, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu / Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 139, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 528; and a third example was sold in these rooms, 27th October 1992, lot 30. Compare also a similar cupstand, but with a flowerhead in the centre, from the collection of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, included in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, col. pl. 51.

Cupstands of this type are also known with a variety of flower scrolls encircling the central ruyi medallion; for example see one with a band of scrolling pomegranate flowers, sold twice in these rooms, 27th April 1993, lot 34, and again, 8th October 2013, lot 3107; one depicting scrolling peonies in the British Museum, London, published in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 73; and another with a composite flower scroll, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2006, lot 1249.

Cupstands of this type, decorated in both copper red and cobalt blue, were made to support a small winecup; see a cup and cupstand excavated in the Hongwu strata at Dongmentou, Zhushan, included in the exhibition Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. nos. 17 and 18. Cupstands of this form were originally produced in silver and later adapted into lacquer and porcelain.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong, 8 april 2014