Lot 1035. A rare blue and white 'lotus' bowl, Xuande six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1426-1435); 17.2 cm diam., Japanese wood box. Price realised HKD 1,778,000 (Estimate HKD 700,000 – HKD 900,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, lot 1846

Note: The present bowl is finely potted with deep rounded sides rising to a slightly flared rim, decorated on the interior with a central medallion of a leafy lotus, surrounded on the cavetto by a continuous floral meander. The exterior is further decorated with lotus scroll between a keyfret border at the mouth rim and a classic scroll border at the foot rim. The base is inscribed with a six-character Xuande mark within a double circle.

Each flower depicted on the present bowl would convey a specific symbolic meaning: the tree peony embodies wealth and prosperity; the chrysanthemum denotes longevity and virtue; the herbaceous peony symbolises perseverance; the lotus represents purity and harmony; and the pomegranate signifies joy and protection through its blossoms, while its (unseen) fruit implies the blessing of numerous male descendants.

Similarly sized and decorated Xuande-marked bowls are preserved in both public and private collections. One example is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 322-3, no. 134 (fig. 1); another is at the British Museum, London, illustrated by Jessica Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, p. 133, no. 4:25. Among private hands, a comparable from the Tianminlou Collection is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain: The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, part 1, Hong Kong, 1987, no. 22, and subsequently sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 April 2019, lot 10. A further almost identical example was sold at Christie’s New York, 20 September 2024, lot 1039.

fig.1 Bowl with underglaze-blue decoration of lotus scrolls, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435), Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (016739N000000000)

Christie's. Important Chinese and Asian Works of Art, Hong Kong, 30 October 2025