A large blue and white 'phoenix' bowl, Ming dynasty, 17th century. Photo Sotheby's

painted in rich and varying tones of cobalt blue, the exterior with two phoenix, one alighting atop rockwork issuing peony blooms, the other flying just above a rock with flowering hydrangea plants to either side and with various insects, the interior well with a small bird peering up at a branch of prunus blossoms and further flowers and insects above, the base with an apocryphal six-character Xuande mark within a double circle, with wood stand (2). Diameter 13 3/4  in., 35 cm. Estimation  10,000 — 12,000

PROVENANCE: Cohen and Cohen, London 2000.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 17 sept. 2013 - www.sothebys.com