Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018
A large white-glazed bowl, Xuande six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1426-1435)
Lot 1334. A large white-glazed bowl, Xuande six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1426-1435); 8 1/8 in. (25.6 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018.
The bowl is potted with deep, rounded sides rising from a low, circular foot, and is covered overall with a white glaze that pools to a very pale blue above the foot.
Provenance: Private collection, South America, acquired in the early 20th century.
Note: A Xuande-marked bowl of similar form, but decorated with anhua decoration, is in the British Museum and is illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 122, no. 4:2. Hall states that the Xuande Emperor was in mourning for his father, the Hongzhi emperor, and his grandfather, the Yongle emperor, when he ascended the throne in 1426. As white was the color of mourning in China, a large quality of white utensils were likely ordered at this time to commemorate the Emperor’s ancestors. Compare, also, another bowl published in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, no. 769.
Porcelain bowl with a crackled imitation 'ge' glaze, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435), 16.2 x 8.7 cm. Bequeathed by Mrs Walter Sedgwick, 1968,0422.38. © The Trustees of the British Museum