Lot 3645. A rare lemon-yellow cup, Mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 8.8 cm., 3 3/8  in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000  HKD. Lot sold 1,125,000 HKD (145,125 USD). © Sotheby's

finely potted with deep rounded sides resting on a short straight foot, the exterior applied with a brilliant lemon-yellow glaze, the recessed base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double-square.

Note: Yongzheng porcelain cups of this small size represent one of the most technically challenging porcelains to be produced. They required absolute precision in potting, glazing and firing, as the smallest imperfection resulted in the destruction of the piece. Amongst all the different monochrome glazes, yellow is the only colour that has direct Imperial association. Although imperial yellow-glazed wares had been produced from the early Ming dynasty, they were used exclusively for ritual ceremonies; thus lemon-yellow vessels provided the court with an alternative for daily use. The yellow glaze was derived from an antimoniate oxide and the lemon-yellow glaze was a Yongzheng innovation achieved when the antimoniate of iron was combined with tin oxide resulting in an opaque yellow glaze of brilliant hue.

For a closely related example, see a Yongzheng cup from the collection of Dr. Ip Yee, sold in these rooms, 19th November 1984, lot 218, and included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat. no. 128. Compare also another pair in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated by Jan Wirgin, Chinese Ceramics from the Axel and Nora Lundgren Bequest, Stockholm, 1978, pl. 79.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Works of Art, Hong Kong, 07 april 2015