Lot 134. A large yellow-glazed bowl, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722). Diameter 14 ⅝ in., 37.2 cm. Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 USD. Lot sold: 31,500 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the finely potted deep rounded sides rising from a slightly tapered foot to a wide everted rim, applied overall with a vitreous translucent pale yellow glaze, gradating to a richer egg-yolk tone towards the bottom, the glaze pooling naturally along the foot, the base white-glazed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 29th March 2006, lot 515.

Note: Large yellow-glazed bowls with imperial marks originated during the Jiajing period (r. 1521-1567) and enjoyed a renaissance under the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662-1722). Bowls of this type are believed to date from the early Kangxi period. 

Large Kangxi mark and period bowls of this type were produced in two sizes: one with a diameter between 12¼ and 12½ in. (31.1 - 31.8 cm), the other version with a diameter between 14 and 15 in. (35.6 - 38.1 cm). The present bowl belongs to the latter group. Other examples of the same scale include one in the Shanghai Museum published in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, cat. no. 238; one sold in our London rooms, 14th March 1972, lot 150; an example from the Earl Morse Collection sold in these rooms, 24th March 1998, lot 661; a third one sold in these rooms, 27th November 1990, lot 30; and another sold at Christie's New York, 20th-21st March 2014, lot 2178.

A bowl of the same type in the slightly smaller size from the Baur Collection, Geneva, is illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, vol. 2, pl. 189, where it is attributed to the late 17th century. Another related example from the Meiyintang Collection sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 2.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 17 march 2021