Lot 16. Property from an important European collection. A fine pair of white-glazed 'phoenix' stem cups, Marks and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); h. 8.7 cm. Lot Sold 571,500 HKD (Estimate 100,000 - 150,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2024

each potted with a flaring body rising from a tall spreading stem, decorated in shallow relief around the exterior with a pair of phoenix soaring amidst peony blooms, between a keyfret band at the rim and plantain leaves encircling the stem, covered overall in a white glaze, the inside of the hollowed-out stem incised with a horizontal six-character reign mark.

Provenance: Acquired from Edward T. Chow (1910-80) in the late 1960s.

Literature: Possibly illustrated in Edward T. Chow and Frederick Seguier Drake, 'Kuan-Yao and Min-Yao: A Study on Imperial Porcelain and People's Porcelain from K'ang-hsi to the End of the Ch'ing Dynasty', Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, vol. 13, 1959, pl. XXIV, 1.

Sotheby's. An Important European Collection of Chinese Ceramics - Acquired from Edward T. Chow, Hong Kong, 9 April 2024.