Lot 265. A rare yellow-ground 'yangcai' 'lotus' bowl, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795). Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's

the deep rounded sides rising from a short slightly tapered foot to an everted rim, brilliantly enameled around the exterior with a continuous lotus scroll with stylized blooms, all reserved on a vibrant lemon-yellow ground, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue Diameter 6 3/4  in., 17.1 cm

Provenance: Acquired in London in the 1960s.
Property of a Lady.
Christie's New York, 19th - 20th September 2013, lot 1392.

Notes: Yangcai painted pieces were among the most prized types of porcelain in the Qing court, as well as being the type most treasured and admired by the Qianlong emperor himself. The special position in his collection is demonstrated by how he had them placed in his largest private quarters, the Qianqinggong (Palace of Heavenly Purity), located in the Inner Court of the Forbidden City. The present bowl is extremely rare for its restrained lotus design and no other closely related example appears to have been published. A similar design, with the same black outlines and simplified lotus flower coupled with leafy scrolls, is found on a pair of yellow-ground dishes, sold at Christie’s London, 21st April 1986, lot 342.

At first glance the bowl appears familiar but upon closer inspection it is apparent that the famille-rose painted leafy lotus motif contrasts considerably from other yellow-ground bowls decorated with scrolling floral motifs. The more common bowl, such as one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 181, is enameled around the exterior with a vibrant frieze of exotic flowers painted in a European-inspired feathery style. Such bowls, further decorated with five iron-red bats in the interior, appear to have been made in large quantities as early as the second year of the Qianlong reign, as noted ibid, p. 205. Further examples of bowls of this Western-style type include a pair, from the Bahr collection, illustrated in Old Chinese Porcelain and Works of Art in China, London, 1911, pl. XCVI (left and right), and later sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 15th November 1988, lot 32, from the collection of Paul and Helen Bernat; another in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command, Hong Kong, 1976, pl. 6; and another, but with a blue enamel four-character reign mark of Qianlong, and of the period, sold twice in these rooms, 7th December 1983, lot 381, and again, 16th/17th September 2014, lot 171.

The yangcai palette owes its existence to the aesthetic taste of the Qianlong emperor, and to the achievement of Tang Ying, the Superintendent of the Imperial Kilns at Jingdezhen. As the meaning of the term yangcai or ‘Western colors’ suggests, its origins may be found in Western painting. The leafy scrolls and use of white display Western shading techniques to bring a greater degree of three-dimensionality to the overall composition. The colors are also noticeably more delicate and lighter in shade than the more conventional palette used at the time. The use of yellow for the ground is probably inspired by Beijing enameled wares first produced by Jesuit missionary artists working in the Qing court under the Kangxi emperor.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM