A 'faux bois' jardinière, 18th-19th century. Estimate $20,000 – $30,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The jardinière is sturdily potted with steep, slightly flared sides and is decorated in imitation of wood staves bound by two bands of yellow rope. 14 3/8 in. (36.7 cm.) diameter 

Provenance: The James E. Sowell Collection, Dallas, Texas. 

Note: A pair of similar 'faux bois' jardinières, from the collection of the Duke of Norfolk, was sold at Sotheby's Monaco, 4 March 1984, lot 170. Compare the current example to a Yongzheng-marked flower pot imitating wood grain and illustrated in Liu Liang-yu, Ch'ing Official and Popular Wares, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 5, Taipei, 1991, p.129. See, also, a related Qianlong 'faux bois' jardinière illustrated in Catalogue of World Ceramics, Tokyo, 1956, fig.43. 

Christie's. MANDARIN & MENAGERIE: THE SOWELL COLLECTION, PART II, 16 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza