A blue and white trefoil ko-sometsuke stem bowl, Tianqi period (1621-1627). Estimate £1,000 – £1,500 ($1,534 - $2,301). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The bowl has an everted curling rim decorated with a brocade pattern, and the exterior is decorated with four leafy sprays. The raised foot has a moulded band above grass decoration. 5 ¼ in. (14.5 cm.) wide, Japanese wood box

Note: This stem bowl was made for the Japanese market. An almost identical piece can be found in the Itsuo Fine Arts Museum Collection, published in Masahiko Kawahara, Ko-sometsuke, Kyoto, 1977, pp. 102, no. 389.

Christie's. CHINESE CERAMICS, WORKS OF ART AND TEXTILES, 12 May 2015, London, South Kensington