Lot 503. A blue and white 'lotus' bowl, Ming dynasty, 15th century. Diameter 8 3/4  in., 22.2 cm. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Lot sold 75,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the deep rounded sides set over a slightly tapered foot, the exterior painted in variegated cobalt tones with a continuous scroll of foliate stems issuing lotus blossoms, the motif framed between a double line at the rim and further plain bands encircling the foot, the interior centered with a large flowerhead within a double circle.

Provenance: English Private Collection (by repute). 

Note: The present bowl may be attributed to the second half of the fifteenth century based on the quality of the glaze, porcelain body and style of the painting. The design is clearly inspired by Chenghua mark and period 'palace' bowls, such as one in the Percival David Collection, at the British Museum, London, published in Stacey Pierson, Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 2004, pl. 40. Compare an unmarked blue and white bowl attributed to the late fifteenth century by John Alexander Pope, illustrated in Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pl. 64.