Lot 15. A fine small lemon-yellow glazed bowl. Diameter 9.4 cm, 3⅝ in. Estimate: 70,000 - 90,000 GBP. Lot sold 87,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

with deep rounded sides resting on a short foot and rising to a broad rim, evenly applied to the exterior with a rich lemon-yellow glaze neatly stopping at the rim and the foot, the base with a six-character reign mark within a circle in underglaze blue.

Exhibited: Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 138.

Note: The vibrant hue of the lemon-yellow glaze was a unique innovation of the Yongzheng period, which was achieved through the combination of antimoniate of iron and tin oxide. As the yellow glaze was intimately associated with imperial power, yellow-glazed wares had been reserved exclusively for ritual ceremonies- thus lemon-yellow vessels such as this cup provided the court with an alternative for daily use. 

Compare a pair of closely related cups, in the Leshantang collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th November 1997, lot 1375; another pair from the collection of Mr and Mrs Eli Lilly, sold in our New York rooms, 3rd June 1993, lot 334; a third pair from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 25th November 1980, lot 101; and a fourth, from the collection of W.F. van Heukelom, sold in these rooms, 5th November 2014, lot 51. See also a slightly smaller pair of bowls in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated in Jan Wirgin, Chinese Ceramics from the Axel and Nora Lundgren Bequest, Stockholm, 1978, pl. 58b, no. 78.

Sotheby's. Imperial Porcelain - A Private Collection, 06 Nov 2019