Lot 5. A yellow-glazed saucer dish, mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566); 9.6 cm, 3 3/4  in. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 HKD. Unsold. © Sotheby's.

with shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot to a slightly everted rim, applied overall with an even yellow glaze of rich egg-yolk tone, the base left white and inscribed in underglaze blue with a reign mark within a double rectangle.

Provenance: Collection of Hans Öström, Stockholm.
Collection of Emil Hultmark (1872-1943), and thence by descent in the family.

Exhibited: Emil Hultmarks Samling [Emil Hultmark Collection], Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm, 1942, cat. no. 448.

Note: Yellow-glazed porcelains, with and without decoration, had a special standing in China among the imperial wares, since yellow was the emperor's colour. They were produced throughout the imperial era, whenever imperial porcelains were commissioned by the court. Several examples of yellow-glazed porcelains from the Jiajing reign are preserved in the collections of the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pls 42-45. However, none bear a six-character reign mark enclosed in a double rectangle as found on the present piece, which appears to be a rare mark. For other examples of Jiajing porcelains inscribed with a reign mark within a double rectangle, usually of small hand palm size and mostly doucai wares, in the Taipei Palace Museum, see Minji meihin zuroku [Illustrated catalogue of important Ming porcelains], vol. 2, Tokyo, 1978 nos 40, 41 and 44.

Sotheby's. Chinese Works of Art from the Collection of Emil Hultmark, Hong Kong, 29 nov. 2018, 10:00 AM