Lot 665. A Blanc-de-Chine shallow circular brush washer or narcissus bowl, 17th-18th century; 7 in. (17.7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 2,000 - USD 3,000. Price realised USD 4,750. © Christie's Image Ltd 2008.

With shallow sides, the lower rim cut with three arched notches, covered inside and out with a glaze of ivory color, the flat base unglazed, two wood stands, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Acquired in Japan in the 1970s.

Lot 666. A Dehua censer, 17th-18th century; 5 5/8 in. (14.2 cm.) across handles. Estimate USD 2,500 - USD 3,500. Price realised USD 4,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2008.

Of bombé form, raised on a slightly flared foot and set with a pair of 'fish'-shaped handles, covered with a glaze of milk-white color that falls short on the interior to expose a white slip that stops above the unglazed center,box, wood stand.

Provenance: Edward T. Chow.
M.C. Wang Collection, China, formed through the 1940s, and thence by descent to the present owners.

Literature: H.D. Ling and E.T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Hall of Leisurely Pastime, vol. II, Hong Kong, privately printed, 1950, no. 114. 

Note: The shape of the censer and the handles is based on bronze prototypes such as the two bronze censers from the collection of Yang Ping Zhen illustrated in Jin Yu Qing Yan (Golden Jade and Green Smoke), National Museum of History, Taipei, 1996, pp. 226-7, nos. 159 and 160, where the handles are described as fish-shaped. 

Lot 667. A Blanc-de-Chine heagonal tea pot and cover, 17th-18th century; 8 1/8 in. (20.7 cm.) high. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 6,250. © Christie's Image Ltd 2008.

The bulbous body raised on three shallow bracket supports, each facet molded with a shaped panel framing a different scene of scholarly pursuits, with square yolk handle and faceted spout, the flat cover surmounted by a buddhistic lion with a brocade ball.

Note: A similar ewer without cover is illustrated in K.S. Lo Collection in the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Part 1, Hong Kong, 1984, no. 40. Compare, also, the ewer with similar body, but with rounded arched handle and plain curved spout, illustrated by J. Donnelley, Blanc de Chine, New York, 1967, pl. 60A; and the pair of ewers with flower-carved panels included in the exhibition, Blanc de Chine, S. Marchant and Son, London, 3 - 24 June 1994, no. 54, where it is noted that the shape and design are "reminiscent of blue and white Kraak pieces current in the 17th century".