A rare and finely painted blue and white 'lotus' bowl, Xuande six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1426-1435). Estimate £50,000 – £80,000 ($76,950 - $123,120). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The bowl is delicately painted with the 'heaping and piling' effect, depicting stylised lotus blooms with leafy scrolls to the exterior. The interior is decorated with a peony spray to the central roundel, surrounded by six further floral clusters. 8 ¼ in. (21 cm.) diam.

Provenance: From a private European collection, acquired in the 1970s.

Notes: A Xuande bowl of very similar size, form and design is in the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 34 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 160, no. 152. Another example is in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated by Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Red & Blue, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 135, no. 131. Also compare the present lot to two related bowls, both painted with floral scrolls, in the British Museum in London, illustrated by Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 133, nos.4:24 and 4:25.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART, 10 November 2015, London, King Street