A famille verte Month cup. Kangxi underglazed blue six-character mark within a double circle and of the period (1662-1722). photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The vessel has deep thinly potted sides rising to a slightly everted rim, it is delicately painted with a flowering pomegranate tree in a setting of rocks, grasses and plants, inscribed in underglaze blue on the reverse with a couplet, lu se zhu lian ying; xiang feng fen bi zhe, ending with a single-character seal mark, shang. 2 5/8 in. (6.6 cm.) diam.  Lot 1294. Estimate £15,000 - £25,000 ($23,850 - $39,750). Price Realized £18,750 ($29,531)

Notes: The couplet is taken from the poem tong he yong lou qian hai shi lou er shou by the Tang poet Sun Ti (696-761). The inscription may be translated as: "The colour of the pomegranate flowers dampened with dew is reflected in the beaded curtain, the breeze scented with their fragrance is contained by the whitewashed wall, the seeds of the pomegranate resemble the beads of a curtain". 

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles 18 May 2012  London, South Kensington