A rare blue and white 'Lotus Scroll' 'Mantouxin' bowl, Mark and period of Yongzheng. Photo: Sotheby's

elegantly potted with rounded sides rising from a recessed base, the exterior finely decorated with a lotus scroll issuing leafy tendrils and eight lotus blossoms, the interior centred with a domed medallion enclosing a stylised lotus bloom with ruyi-shaped petals and leaves, a band of eight petals encircling the medallion, enclosing and issuing a lotus blossom in an alternating manner, the recessed base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within double circles; 15.3 cm., 6 in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,000,000 HKD

Note: The present 'Mantouxin' bowl is unusual for its combination of decorative motifs; although floral scrolls were a popular design the rendering of the blooms with their long stamen, the lotus on this piece is atypical of the period. Similarly, the Tibetan-inspired rosette adorning the interior of the bowl is rarely found on contemporary wares and may derive from archetypal Yongle and Xuande moonflasks, such as one exhibited in in Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 65.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong | 08 Apr 2014 -www.sothebys.com