A blue and white stem cup with anhua decoration, Kangxi period. Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€8,900 - 13,000). Photo Bonhams.

Thinly potted with a flared rim to the wide, curving well and raised on a tall conical foot, the fabric on the interior delicately molded with alternating lotus flowers and siddham roundels issuing from interlocked strap-work scrolls, the floor of the well painted in underglaze blue with a lotus and tendril roundel that repeats in a fluid pattern on the exterior walls, the lustrous glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad and burnt russet brown where thin along the rim. 5 3/4in (14.5cm) diameter. 3 7/8in (9.8cm) high

Note: For two similarly shaped cups with underglaze blue and anhua decoration, each ascribed to the Kangxi period, see the Southeast Asian Ceramics exhibition, Chinese Blue & White Ceramics, 1978, pp. 232-33: no. 265 with similar russet-burnt firing ring (13cm high); no. 266 with unidentified anhua decoration on the interior (11cm high) but with arabesque scrolls painted on the exterior walls similar to the anhua decoration that appears on the interior walls of this lot.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO