Lot 924. A fine and very rare pair of famille rose 'prunus and lingzhi' tea bowls, Yongzheng six character marks in underglaze blue within circles and of the period (1723-1735); 9.1 cm diam. Price realised HK$29,415,000 (Estimate: HK$20,000,000 - 30,000,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025.

These bowls exemplify the Yongzheng Emperor’s aesthetic sensibility, distinctive taste and appreciation for traditional Chinese motifs, reflecting his high standards for refinement and sophistication. The prunus blossoms, in shades of snowy-white and pink, bloom on leafless branches, evoking the winter season and symbolising rebirth and longevity. The two gnarled boughs with knots and burls in the composition give a sense of age while the buds and blooms that issue out of the bare branches are refreshingly vivid and lively. The sharp contrast is deliberate and highlights the passing of winter and the imminent arrival of spring. The style and technique of the branches are very similar to those depicted on a pair of falangcai bowls from the same period in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (fig. 1. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei), see Porcelain with painted enamels of Qing Yongzhen period (1723-1735), Taipei, 2013, p. 128, no. 53. The inclusion of the lingzhi in the composition is interesting and warrants attention, revered in Chinese art, it is believed to bestow humans with physical and spiritual strength.

The prunus is often depicted as a member of the ‘Three Friends of Winter (suihan sanyou)’, along with the pine and the bamboo, as well as being one of the ‘Four Gentlemen (sijunzi)’ with the orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, symbolising nobility. However, its pairing with the lingzhi, as seen on the present bowls, is exceptionally rare. A pair of Yongzheng-marked bowls, slightly larger in size and decorated with a similar arrangement of flowering prunus and plum branches, along with the same spray of lingzhi depicted in varying shades of purple, are in the Baur Collection, illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, nos. A 590, illustrated next to a pair of matching cups, ibid., A 592. Another larger bowl finely painted with flowering prunus branches emanating from the base together with tufts of bamboo leaves and a spray of lingzhi, formerly in the collection of William Kenneth Slatcher C.V.O. (1926-1997), High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, was sold at Sotheby’s Paris, 23 June 2016, lot 93. Compare also with a slightly larger bowl, from the collection of Frederick Knight, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2019, lot 3605.
 

For a Yongzheng-period famille rose example decorated with just prunus and lingzhi, without bamboo, see a slightly larger bowl (diameter 9.2 cm), in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 70 (fig. 2. Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing).