Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 28 November 2012
A famille rose 'Pomegranate' bowl , Daoguang six-character seal mark and of the period (1821-1850)
Lot 2367. A famille rose 'Pomegranate' bowl , Daoguang six-character seal mark and of the period (1821-1850); 4 7/16 in. (11.2 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000. Price realised HKD 275,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2012
The bowl is finely enamelled with a coiling vine intertwined with bamboo, heavily laden with ripe pomegranates growing amidst yellow blossoms and large leaves painted in two shades of green. The design starts at the foot and continues over the mouth rim into the interior before meandering to the exterior again. The vines and bamboo stalks extend around the sides, with two colourful butterflies fluttering above, Japanese wood box.
Provenance: Acquired in the 1980s from Hirano Kotoken, Tokyo
Note: The design on the present bowl is based on a sketch sample issued by the Imperial Household Department and kept in the palace archives, as illustrated in Guanyang Yuci, Beijing, 2007, pp. 134-135, pl. 26. Bowls of such design were also made during the Jiaqing period. See for example a Jiaqing-marked bowl of almost identical size and pattern, ibid. Another closely comparable example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1568.