Lot 29. Two very rare enamelled 'scholar and fisherman' wine cups, Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period (1723-1735). 7cm (2 3/4in) diam. (2). Estimate HK$ 1,800,000 - 2,200,000 (€190,000 - 240,000). Unsold. Photo: Bonhams.

Each delicately potted with gently curved sides raised on a slightly recessed base, the first exquisitely enamelled on the exterior with a continuous scene portraying a scholar leisurely seated beside a pine tree with his arms resting on the tree trunk, the reverse with a jagged rockwork and an iron-red seal mark reading zhuju, the second vividly depicting a fisherman wading in shallow water amidst a bamboo grove and rockwork with his arms outstretched forward in an attempt to catch a snipe and a clam.  

Provenance: An English private collection
Sold in our London Rooms, 13 May 2010, lot 340

Note: The present pair of cups is very rare, belonging to a small group of exquisitely enamelled polychrome wares, including cups, small bowls and saucer-dishes, finely decorated with scholars in idealised natural retreats, dating to the early part of the Yongzheng reign. Compare two closely related bowls (9.6cm diam.), Yongzheng marks and period, the first decorated with a scholar and attendant by a riverbank gazing at geese, and the second with a scholar leaning on a pine tree, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, nos.155-156; see also a related polychrome enamelled bowl and cover, Yongzheng marks and period, enamelled with Zhongli Quan seated near a pine tree and Zhang Guolao with his mule, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, museum no.597&A-1907.

 A "scholar and attendant by a riverbank gazing at geese" bowl, Yongzheng mark and period. Image courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

A "scholar leaning on a pine tree" bowl, Yongzheng mark and period. Image courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Bowl and lid with two of the Eight Daoist immortals (on the lid, Zhongli Quan, seated near a pine-tree; on the bowl, Zhang Guolao with his mule), Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735), porcelain painted in polychrome enamels. Height: 7.3 cm, Diameter: 7.6 cm. Given by Mrs. Julia C. Gulland, 597&A-1907 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

The subject on one of the cups showing the fisherman attempting to catch the fighting snipe and clam, is taken from the ancient Chinese literature of the Warring States period Zhan Guo Ce, 'Strategies of the Warring State'. The text describes the strategies and political views of the School of Diplomacy and reveals the historical and social characteristics of the period; the text records the story of the envoy Su Dai from the State of Yan who successfully convinced King Hui of Zhao to abandon his plan for an invasion by telling him the story that when snipe and clam fight, the fisherman gets both and neither of the rivals win.

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