Lot 3093. A famille-rose vase with ducks, Republican period, dated to 1938; 34.8 cm., 13 3/4 in. Estimate 250,000 — 350,000 HKD. Lot Sold 1,220,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the vase of ovoid form with a waisted neck below a flaring mouth, finely painted with eight ducks flocking around roses, asters, chrysanthemums, reeds and rocks, four further ducks flying in the sky above, the reverse inscribed with a poem qiu man jiang hu tong yin zhuo, feng xuan luwei zi fei ming ('Eat and drink together when the rivers and lakes are full in autumn, call and fly separately when the reeds are blown by the wind'), surrounded by three seals, the base inscribed in red with a seal mark reading Zhonghua minguo ershiqi nian zhi, dated to the 27th year of the Republican period, corresponding to 1938.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 april 2011