Lot 10. A rare celadon-glazed bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period (1723-1735); 23.9cm (9 3/8in) diam. Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000 (€57,000 - 80,000). Sold for HK$ 875,000 (€ 103,813). Photo: Bonhams.

Elegantly and deeply potted with a slightly everted foot rising to a gently flaring rim, the exterior decorated with six ruyi-heads enclosing smaller lappets issuing from a band of flower petals and keyfret scrolls at the rim, covered overall in a translucent soft celadon glaze, the base with a six-character kaishu mark in underglaze-blue.

Provenance: Dulany's Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan, 1984
An American private collection

Note: Remarkable for their impeccable quality of the glaze, elegant shapes and refined bodies; monochrome porcelains made in the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the Yongzheng reign are ranked among the finest examples of Imperial wares throughout the Qing dynasty. The present lot belongs to a specific group of celadon glazed porcelain specially commissioned by the Qing court to cater to the Yongzheng emperor's sophisticated aesthetic taste for monochrome wares. These series of celadon-glazed bowls have varying auspicious designs also including the Eight Buddhist Emblems (bajixing), the 'Three Abundances' (sanduo) and archaistic dragons. 

This bowl is gracefully decorated with a band of ruyi-head lappets which is further accentuated by smaller lappets around the slightly splayed foot, representing auspicious wishes for long life. The Imperial artisans deliberately chose to leave the main body of the exterior unadorned, highlighting the extraordinary jade-like tone of the celadon glaze. 

Compare a similar celadon glazed bowl, Yongzheng mark and period, from the Charles B. Hoyt collection, Boston, illustrated in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition catalogue, The Charles B. Hoyt Collection. Memorial Exhibition, Boston, 1952, p.111, no.440. See also a very similar example of a celadon-glazed bowl, Yongzheng mark and period, formerly in the Hall Family collection (inventory no.392), illustrated in Sotheby's Hong Kong. Twenty Years, Hong Kong, 1993, p.226, no.314, which later sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong on 8 October 2013, lot 3125.  

Bonhams. AUCTION 23347: FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 10:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY