Lot 110. A Finely Carved 'Longquan' Celadon 'Lotus' Bowl, Ming Dynasty, 15th Century; diameter 6 7/8 in., 17.6 cm. Estimate USD 20,000 — 30,000. Lot sold USD 18,750. © Sotheby's.

the circular bowl with rounded sides and flared lip, all on a low irregularly-cut foot ring, the exterior carved with a continuous lotus-scroll, leiwen border to the lip, the interior centered by a lotus blossom amidst foliage, the sides with a continuous lotus scroll, a classic scroll border around the lip, the body covered with a pale sage-green glaze, inside of foot with unglazed ring burned orange-red, Japanese wood box (2).

Note: A bowl of similar high quality and decoration is in the collection of the British Museum, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, no. 16:50, p. 481, where Harrison-Hall notes that wares of this refinement were only made for a relatively short time. For related examples compare the bowl sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 8th October 1990, lot 410; another sold in our London rooms, 12th June 1990, lot 186; and a third from the Collection of Jack Chia, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th November 1996, lot 637. Compare also the slightly smaller bowl sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25th April 2004, lot 281. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works Of Art, New York, 18 March 2008