A blue and white shallow bowl, Early Kangxi period, circa 1662-1670. Estimate $3,000 - $5,000. Price Realized $8,125 . Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The shallow bowl is decorated with a rocky garden scene depicting a pavilion in which a dignitary instructs two attendants while a lady looks on from behind a large screen. The rim is dressed in brown and the base bears an apocryphal Jiajing mark.6 ¾ in. (17.1 cm.) diam.

Provenance: Anthony Gray, London, 1987.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Notes: Although this scene has not yet been identified, it must be based on a popular story or scene from a novel, based on its narrative nature. The similarly shaped dish, lot 3566, also painted in a similar penciled style, depicts a scene fromBiographies of Exemplary Women.

Christie's. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza