Lot 3316.  A rare famille rose 'Rose blossom' month cup, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price realised HKD 875,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2014. 

The exterior of the cup is delicately painted and enamelled representing the eleventh month with pink and iron-red roses growing beside low rockwork with an insect in flight. The reverse has an inscription which may be translated to 'Unlike the myriad blossoms that flower and wither; the rose alone is perennially red', followed by a seal mark reading Shang, 'Appreciation'.

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby's New York, 1 June 1988, lot 176.

Note: The present cup is a very rare example of a Qianlong-period re-interpretation of the Kangxi famille verte and blue and white 'month cups', rendered in the famille rose palette and inscribed with a reign mark in seal script.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 26 November 2014