A café-au-lait-ground famille-verte bowl, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period. Photo Sotheby's

the exterior neatly painted with an aubergine-glazed knotted and twisting prunus tree issuing bountiful branches and blossoms with a pair of birds in between, all against an evenly toned cafe-au-lait ground, the interior and base glazed white, apocryphal six-character Xuande within a double circle. Diameter 6 in., 15.2. Estimation 5,000 — 7,000 USD

PROVENANCE: John Sparks, Ltd., London, 22nd September 1982.

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