Lot 25. A fine and rare tianbai-glazed hexagonal petal-lobed bowl, Yongzheng six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period; 22.8cm diam; 12.2cm diam foot. Sold for US$121,150. © Bonhams 

Expertly potted, each lobe and the supporting base defined by a deep groove to simulate an open blossom and covered overall with a transparent glaze, an underglaze blue six-character Yongzheng mark beneath the elegant foot ring.

Provenance: Christie's, Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 1155.

Note; This stunning bowl is steeped in the antiquarian spirit of the Yongzheng emperor, looking back to Song mallow-form prototypes and to the Yongle 'sweet white' wares of the early Ming. At the same time, this lot reflects his interest in innovation, in its broad, elegantly angled lobes and delicately modeled petal-form edges. See one other smaller (7.5cm high) exquisite example in the Zhuyeutang collection, published in the exhibition catalog Mille ans de Monochromes. Vaisselle Sacree et Profane des Empereurs de Chine. Les collections Baur et Zhuyuetang, Fondation Baur, 5 Continents Edition, Milan, 2018, catalog no. 189.

The enameled version of this form can be found decorated in Yongzheng famille rose, copper red and doucai examples. See a floral bowl, published in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1992, catalog no. 184, sold at Christie's Hong Kong April 26, 2004, and a bowl in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, accession no. 599-1907 from the Julia C Bulland bequest, painted in copper red with bats.

Lot 26. A 'clair-de-lune'-glazed Dish, Yongzheng six-character mark within double square and of the period; 16.2cm diam. Sold for US$23,040. © Bonhams 

The finely potted shallow dish rising from a circular foot and flared rim, covered on the interior and exterior with a delicate pale blue glaze thinning to white at the rim, the six-character Yongzheng mark enclosed in a double square.

Provenance : Acquired in Hong Kong, by repute, and thence by descent.

Note : For a similar dish, see a pair in the exhibition Imperial Chinese Porcelain, Ceramics and Works of Art, Marchant, London, 2013, cat. no 27. See another pair in the Percival David Collection, now in the British Museum published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ch'ing Monochrome London, 1973, Section 6, nos B560 and 561. See also a pair of similar dishes in P.Y. K Lam, Shimmering Colours: Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods, The Zhuyuetang Collection Hong Kong, 2005, p. 140, no. 72.

See a slightly smaller related dish sold Christie's New York, 14 September 2017, lot 743; another sold by Sotheby's New York, 23 September 2020, lot 549.

Bonhams. Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art including the Francine and Bernard Wald Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, Part I. New York, 17 March 2025