A pair of famille rose coral-ground 'Peony' bowls, Daoguang six-character seal marks in underglaze-blue and of the period (1821-1850). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2014.

Each bowl is potted with deep rounded sides raised on a short foot, with the exterior elaborately decorated with three yellow-ground cartouches containing pink peony flowers, surrounded by further colourful floral sprays and associated foliage, all reserved on a coral ground. 4 ? in. (11 cm.) diam. Estimate £30,000 – £50,000 ($50,370 - $83,950)

Provenance: Christie's New York, 26 March 2010, lot 1442.

Notes: The design of flowers enclosed in cartouches first appeared on falangcai wares of the Kangxi period (1662-1722). An example of a Kangxi mark and period bowl decorated in this style is in the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel, p. 4, pl. 2.

Compare the present lot to a Daoguang bowl included in the Exhibition of the Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1984, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 104; and another from the Simon Kwan Collection, included in the Exhibition of Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1983, Catalogue, no. 51. See a very similar bowl sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3737.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 13 May 2014, London, King Street - http://www.christies.com/