Lot 121. A pair of celadon-ground famille verte 'fruit' bowls, Kangxi marks and period (1662-1722); Diameter 4¾ in., 12 cm. Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 USD. © 2020 Sotheby's

each bowl of deep rounded form rising from a short straight foot to a slightly flaring brown-dressed rim, the domed cover in the form of an everted saucer with pronounced footring, the exterior painted with flowering and fruiting branches in green and iron-red enamels outlined in black on a celadon ground, the interior painted with a five-petal floret enclosed within a double circle in underglaze blue, the base and cover both inscribed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue (4).

Note: Compare a closely related bowl and cover from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 152. Another closely related bowl and cover, formerly in the H. M. Knight Collection, was exhibited in Oosterse Schatten, 4000 Jaar Aziatische Kunst, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1954, cat. no. 326, and later sold in our London rooms, 9th June 2004, lot 203. The third example, without the cover and inscribed with a da ming nian zhi mark, formerly in the Sir Percival David Collection, sold at Christie’s London, 15th October 1968, lot 136, and again in the same rooms, 16th May 1998, lot 156.

Sotheby's. Kangxi Porcelain - A Private Collection. Live Auction: 22 September 2020 • 3:00 PM CEST • New York