Lot 3215. A rare famille rose lime-green ground ‘Western figures’ cong-form vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century, 8 ¾ in. (22 cm. high), box. Estimate HKD 1,500,000 - HKD 2,600,000 (USD 193,524 - USD 335,442) © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Each side of the vase is delicately enamelled with a scene of Western figures engaged in various pursuits by a riverbank, between a lime-green ground decorated with foliate sprays, with the vertical edges, mouth rim and base of neck highlighted in gilt. The interior and base are covered under a transparent glaze. 

Note: Famille rose vases with similar arrangement of decoration had been popular since the 18th century, though it is rare to find an example with this high quality of enamelling. Such superb skill is particularly conveyed through the use of the blue and turquoise enamels in the depiction of the rocks on this vase, a feature which is similarly found on deer vases of the Qianlong period, such as the pair in the National Palace Museum, Illustrated in Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch’ien-lung Reign, Taipei, 2008, pp. 156-7, pl, 51. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2017, Convention Hall