Lot 4243. A rare early Ming Longquan celadon 'Lotus' bowl, Ming dynasty, 14th-15th century, 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 400,000. Price realised HKD 375,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

, Standing on a small cylindrical foot, the bowl is carved to the exterior of the flaring sides with two bands of upright lotus petals below a classic scroll near the mouth rim, the centre of the interior with a lotus blossom at the medallion and a keyfret band below the mouth rim. The bowl is covered by a lustrous celadon glaze of sea-green tone, the base with an unglazed ring burnt orange during the firing, Japanese wood box.

Note: It is interesting to note that the double petal pattern on the current bowl can be seen on blue and white wares made in the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the Yongle and Xuande periods, see one example with a Xuande mark in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 162, no. 154. The same double petal design also appears on white wares of the early Ming period such as the bowl, dated to the Yongle period from the Kempe Collection, offered in the Imperial Sale, 30 May 2012, lot 3979. A Longquan celadon bowl of identical design and size to the current bowl is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei and illustrated in Green- Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 2009, p. 36, no. 9.