Lot 904. Two blue and white 'Seven scholars' bowls, Kangxi marks and period (1662-1722). Diameter 8 1/8  in., 20.1 cm. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Lot sold 7,500 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each of 'klapmuts' form with deep rounded sides, resting on a straight foot and steeply flaring at the rim, painted in inky cobalt washes with a scholarly gathering in a rocky bamboo grove, a group listening to the qin, a group conversing, and an attendant preparing a meal to the side, all below a 'prunus and cracked ice' rim border, the interior with a contemplative scholar seated on a rock, the inner rim painted with a band of pine and peony, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle, one bowl painted with cloud scrolls (2). 

Provenance: Frank Crane, The Hundred Antiques, Toronto, 1960s-1980s, and thence by descent.

Sotheby's.  Important Chinese Art, New York, 11 september 2019