Lot 27. A superb and rare imperial Beijing enamel circular dish, Kangxi red enamel yuzhi four-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 9.5cm (3 3/4in) diam. (2). Sold for HKD 885,000 (Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

Of shallow circular form with a slightly convex centre on a short foot, exquisitely painted with a pair of butterflies flying amidst stylised floral scrolls on yellow ground, the exterior with a band of continuous foliate branches on a brown ground, the base with the four-character red-enamel reign mark, box.

Provenance: The Chenyuezhai Collection.

Note: The rich colour palette and the delicacy of the multi-coloured butterflies design employed to decorate this exquisite dish demonstrate the superb craftsmanship of the Imperial Palace Workshops in Beijing, the Zaobanchu, and the extraordinary skill of the painters in rendering naturalistic butterflies onto small works of art. The present lot also displays western influence bearing witness to the cross-fertilisation of Asian and Western cultures at the Imperial Court.

For a Kangxi precursor of this Qianlong example see the bowl in the Percival David Foundation, illustrated by W.Ming in Rare Marks on Chinese Ceramics, London, 1998, pp.32-33, no.6. The eight-character mark on the base may be translated, 'made for the Zhonghe Pavilion in the renzi year of Kangxi', corresponding to 1672. Yongzheng-marked examples are represented by one illustrated in Old Oriental Ceramics Donated by Mr. Yokogawa, Tokyo National Museum, 1953, pl.389; and another included in the exhibition, Chinese Antiquities from the Brian S. McElney Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1987, no.100.

Painted enamel, first introduced during the Kangxi reign by foreign missionaries, became a defining art form of the period, in quality, innovation and unsurpassed opulence. See a Beijing enamel dish with a similar design in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels, Beijing, 2011, no.29.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, Hong Kong, 30 November 2022