A fine doucai 'lotus' bowl, Daoguang seal mark and of the period. Photo:Bonhams.

Attractively enamelled in various colours and outlined in underglaze-blue, the exterior with three stylised double-lotus blossoms issuing from dense vine scrolls and leafy tendrils, the inside with a single lotus spray within two borders, the base with an Imperial six-character zhuanshu seal mark in underglaze-blue. 12.4cm diam. Estimate HK$ 150,000 - 250,000 (€14,000 - 24,000). Unsold

Provenance: Acquired in June 1995

Notes: The production of fine Imperial porcelain began on a downward decline after the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. During the reign of the Daoguang Emperor, only a handful of selected porcelain production types remain controlled under scrutiny. One of these groups, is the doucai-coloured enamels applied and fired above an outline of underglaze-blue.

Compare an identical doucai bowl decorated with double-lotus spray motifs and with a Daoguang seal mark from The Silas Friedlander Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 15-16 September 2011, lot 1532. See also another identical bowl sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1517; and another, 29 May 2013, lot 2296.

See also another group of similarly-decorated doucai floral bowls, whereby one was previously sold in Christie's London, 8 December 1986, lot 440, and subsequently sold in these rooms, 24 November 2014, lot 243.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, Hong Kong, Admiralty, 26 May 2014 - http://www.bonhams.com/