Lot 3245. A rare blue and white 'Bamboo and Plantain' bowl, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price realised HKD 1,720,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The bowl is painted on the exterior in cobalt of vivid inky blue tones with a continuous scene depicting bamboo and plantain trees growing from a rocky ground, all above a band of petal lappets around the foot. The interior is decorated on the cavetto with sprays of peony and chrysanthemum, below a band of lingzhi scroll, the centre with a medallion enclosing two pomegranate fruits. 

Provenance: Mayuyama & Co., Tokyo, 3 March 1952. 

Note: A Wanli-marked bowl of identical design is illustrated in Junkichi Mayuyama, Chinese Ceramics in the West: A Compendium of Chinese Ceramic Masterpieces in European and American Collection, 1960, pl. 136.