Lot 17. A fine and rare pair of doucai 'lingzhi' cups, Chenghua six-character marks, Yongzheng period (1723-1735); 7.4cm (2 7/8in) diam. Estimate HK$ 800,000 - 1,200,000 (€86,000 - 130,000). Sold for HK$ 1,937,500 (€208,906).  Photo: Bonhams.

Each exquisitely and thinly potted with a slightly flared rim standing on a short straight foot, the exterior superbly decorated in a doucai palette with soft underglaze-blue outlines and washes, and bright overglaze iron-red, aubergine, green, ochre and sepia enamels with four pairs of ruyi-head motifs in mirror image, alternating with florets borne on foliage, the underside inscribed in underglaze blue with an apocryphal Chenghua six-character mark within double squares, stands and box.

Provenance: A distinguished Asian private collection.

Note: The present lot, inspired by Chenghua-period design, is very rare for its apocryphal Chenghua mark, and only one other similar example appears to have been published. See a doucai 'lingzhi' cup, Yongzheng period, Chenghua mark, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Wang Jianhua, Palace Museum Collection: Ancient Ceramics, vol.2, Beijing, 2005, pl.144. 

Compare two doucai 'lingzhi' fungus cups, Chenghua marks and period, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Shanghai, 2007, no.181; and see five further examples, Chenghua marks and period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, Taipei, 2003, nos.145-149; see also a similarly decorated cup, Wanli mark and period, in the Sir Percival David Collection, in the British Museum, London, illustrated by M.Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares, London, 1978, pl.II, no.10.

A doucai 'lingzhi' fungus cup, Chenghua mark and period; image courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

A doucai 'lingzhi' fungus cup, Yongzheng mark and period; image courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

A doucai 'lingzhi' fungus cup, Chenghua mark, Yongzheng period; image courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Doucai cup with linghzi fungus, Ming dynasty, Wanli mark and period, AD 1573–1620. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue and overglaze red, green and yellow enamels, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF 792 © Trustees of the British Museum

A number of similar examples, Yongzheng mark and period, are in important museum collections; see three cups from the Sir Percival David Collection, in the British Museum, London, published by M.Medley, ibid., nos.160 and 167; and another from the collection of the Hon. M.W.Elphinstone, in the British Museum, museum no.1925,1028.2; and a further example illustrated in The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Shanghai, 2007, no.235.

Doucai cup with linghzi fungus, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng mark and period, AD 1723–1735. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue and overglaze enamels in doucai-style, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF B704 © Trustees of the British Museum

Doucai cup with linghzi fungus, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng mark and period, AD 1723–1735. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue and overglaze enamels in doucai-style, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF B707 © Trustees of the British Museum

Doucai cup with linghzi fungus, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng mark and period, AD 1723–1735. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue and overglaze enamels in doucai-style, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF B708 © Trustees of the British Museum

Doucai cup with linghzi fungus, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng mark and period, AD 1723–1735. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue and overglaze enamels in doucai-style, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, from the collection of the Hon. M.W.Elphinstone, 1925,1028.2 © Trustees of the British Museum.

The Yongzheng Emperor, though a Manchu, was also a strong proponent of traditional Confucian thinking in Han Chinese culture, seeking to achieve cultural continuity, reflected in him continuing the project of compiling a history of the previous Ming dynasty to demonstrate the orthodoxy of Qing rule. His fascination with antiquity led him to repeatedly send antiques from the Palace to the kilns to serve as standards for quality, models for designs and as inspiration for innovation; see Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, Taipei, 2009, p.159; and E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The Three Emperors 1662 - 1795, London, 2005, p.245. The present lot exemplifies that archaism in porcelain which reached its zenith during the 18th century.

The Yongzheng Emperor practiced a balanced combination of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism; however, in later life he became increasingly involved in Daoist matters related to the 'elixir of Immortality', even bestowing upon a high official the pill of longevity. The design on the present lot of lingzhi fungus, symbolising the wish for longevity, would have resonated with the emperor's pursuit of long life.

A similarly decorated pair of doucai 'lingzhi' cups, Yongzheng marks and period, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2013, lot 3094; and another pair was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3523.

A pair of fine doucai 'lingzhi' winecups, marks and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 7.3 cm., 2 7/8  in. Sold for 4,600,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2013, lot 3094. Photo: Sotheby's.

A fine and rare pair of Ming-style doucai 'lingzhi' cups, Yongzheng six-character marks  and period (1723-1735). Price realised HKD 3,620,000 (USD 467,501) at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3523. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 28 Nov 2017, 14:00 HKT, HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY