Lot 141. A blue and white documentary porcelain inkstone, dated to 1621 and of the period; 9.5cm (3 3/4in) diam. Estimate £ 4,000 - 6,000 (€ 4,500 - 6,700). Sold for £ 5,000 (€ 5,743). © Bonhams.

Of cylindrical form, painted on the sides with flowers in four lobed cartouches among brocade-motifs, the unglazed concave ink palette on the top circled by a ringed depression, underglaze blue inscription on the base reading 'Wanli siqinian Xiong Bing zhiyong mengxiayue jidan'. 

Note: The inscription can be translated as 'On the first day of April in the forty seventh year of the Wanli emperor's reign (1621), commissioned and used by Xiong Bing. Compare with a related blue-and-white porcelain inkstone, 1595, in the Percival David Collection at the British Museum, illustrated by M.Medley in Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains, London, 1976, pl.VIII, A673. 

Ink stone with scrolling phoenix and flower heads, Ming dynasty, Wanli mark and period, dated equivalent to AD 1595. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. H x D: 3,3 x 11,5 cm. On loan from Sir Percival David Foundation, PDF A673. © Trustees of the British Museum 

 Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 8 Nov 2018, 10:30 GMT, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET