Lot 3027. A fine and rare famille rose Millefleurs bowl, Jiaqing six-character sealmark in iron-red and of the period (1796-1820); 4 1/4 in. (11 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 375,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The bowl is thinly potted and finely enamelled in a rich famille rosepalette on the exterior with a dense design of a multitude of various flowers. The interior and base are enamelled turquoise, box.

Note: The dense arrangement of various flowers that decorates this bowl is known as wanhuajin (myriad flower brocade), as well as baihuadi (ground of one hundred flowers), and, according to T. T. Bartholomew in Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, p. 146, during the Qing dynasty the design conveyed the hope that the Qing dynasty "would last as long as flowers continue to bloom."

The design, in a somewhat paler famille rose palette, and in a slightly more open format where white background is visible between the flowers and leaves, and without iron-red, first appears during the Yongzheng period (1723-1735), as represented by a small bowl in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 18, no. 15. During the Qianlong period a variation of this design appeared, with the design becoming more dense, allowing no visible white space between the flowers and leaves. The famille rose palette also became richer and with more realistic shading of the enamels, as well as with the addition of iron red. This version of the pattern is well represented by a large Qianlong-marked vase in the Musee Guimet, illustrated by Beurdeley and Raindre, ibid., pp. 118-19, pls. 164 and 165.

Jarre "Mille fleurs", 1709, règne de Qianlong (1736-1795). Hauteur : 48 cm. Diamètre : 36 cm. Ancienne collection Ernest Grandidier, G3344. Paris, musée Guimet - musée national des Arts asiatiques. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (MNAAG, Paris) / Thierry Ollivier