A pair of lemon-yellow-glazed bowls, Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period

Each thinly potted bowl rising from a straight foot ring to gently rounded sides, covered on the exterior with a vibrant lemon-yellow glaze stopping neatly at the rim and foot ring, the interiors glazed white.  6.4cm (2½in) diam. Sold for £62,400

Provenance: R.H.R.Palmer.
Palmer Inventory no.241, where it is stated that the cups were purchased in 1931 for £15.

An almost identical pair of bowls bearing the same Yongzheng marks within a double square was exhibited in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, illustrated in Shimmering Colours. Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods. The Zhuyuetang Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, Catalogue no.131.

Compare also a similar pair of Yongzheng mark and period bowls in the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, Vol.II, Catalogue no.908, and another pair from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, illustrated in Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors, Hong Kong, 2004, fig.100.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 14 May 2009. New Bond Street www.bonhams.com