Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, London, 8 november 2018 10:30 GMT
A pair of blue and white hexagonal vases, Kangxi period(1662-1722), CD monograms
Lot 127. A pair of blue and white hexagonal vases, Kangxi period(1662-1722), CD monograms. Each 30cm (11 7/8in) high. Estimate £ 10,000 - 15,000 (€ 11,000 - 17,000). Unsold. © Bonhams.
Each with a compressed body rising from a flared foot to a long narrow neck and flared mouth, painted in bright cobalt-blue with shaped reserves of elegant ladies, alternating with panels of 'Hundred Antiques' or a scholar and attendant in a landscape, on a 'cracked-ice' ground, the neck with florets between varying foliate and lappet bands, the foot encircled with wide lappets to each facet.
Provenance: An English private collection.
Note: The exact meanings of the marks on the bases of the present lot remains a matter of conjecture among scholars. Some argue that it was the monogram of a European client who commissioned the group, while other argue that they were copying Delft wares and that the marks should be read as 'D'. A discussion on the subject of the meaning of the monograms can be seen in D.Suebsman and D.Antonin, Kangxi Porcelain Treasures of the Kangxi Period, Dusseldorf, 2016, no.148.