A rare imperial white-glazed cut-work bowl. Qianlong underglaze blue six-character seal mark and period. photo Nagel Auctions

Thinly potted, the flared, round side with a cut-out frieze of five large blossoms, all covered in a translucent glaze which fills in the cut-out design to create a plique-a-jour effect.

Former collection Carl Kempe, sold at Sotheby's London, 5.11.2005, Lot 600, Bluett & Sons, Ltd. London labe to base, publ. Bo Gyllensvärd 'Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection', 1964, pl. 756

A similar pair of unmarked bowls in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts was included in the exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, Los Angeles County Museum, 1952, no. 340;

and a single bowl with Qianlong mark is illustrated by Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, no. 793.

A bowl, also of Qianlong date, with a similarly executed, simpler design, is illustrated in Zhongguo taoci daxi (Chinese Ceramic Series), Qingdai taoci daquan (Qing Ceramics), Teipei, 1987-89 p. 307

Two very small restored chips to mouth rim. D. 13,5 cm - Estimate 30 000 €

Nagel Auctions. Asian Art. November 5th 2011. www.auction.de