Lot 127. A famille-verte 'Crabapple' month cup, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722). Diameter 2 1/2  in., 6.5 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000. Lot sold 106,250 USD. © Sotheby's.

the delicate bell-shaped sides rising from a short foot to an everted rim, one side of the exterior finely painted with a blossoming young crabapple tree amidst rocks and burgeoning vegetation all executed in soft underglaze blue and precisely applied overglaze enamels, the other side inscribed in underglaze blue with a poem reading qing xiang he su yu, jia se chu qing yan ('the fragrance blends with the flavor of evening rain; the beautiful color stands out in clear weather like in mist'), followed by a seal mark reading shang ('to appreciate'), the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Property from the Estate of Aron and Elizabeth Landauer

Provenance: Christie's New York, 28th October 1977, lot 157. 

Note: 'Month' cups were produced in the Kangxi period (1662-1722) in both famille-verte and blue and white palettes. Variation in the sizes, colors, inscriptions, and proportional representation of different months, suggests that the cups were issued consecutively rather than as complete sets of twelve. The present cup is associated with the second lunar month of the year. Another cup of this type symbolizing the second month sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2013, lot 3274; one formerly in the collection of Sir Harry Garner sold in those same rooms, 7th October 2015, lot 3703; and an example from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation Collection sold at Christie's New York, 14th-15th September 2017, lot 1224.