A fine pair of coral-ground reserve-decorated 'Lotus' bowls, Qianlong seal marks and period. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 CHF (108,520 - 162,780 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

each body with deep rounded sides rising from a short spreading foot to an everted rim, painted around the exterior in reverse technique with leafy scrolls of lotus, hibiscus and peony reserved on a rich coral red ground, the interior glazed white, the base with seal mark in underglaze-blue. Quantity: 2 - 12.8cm., 5in.

Provenance: Franzero Collection.
Corrado Zingone Collection, no.39.

Notes: This exquisite pair of bowls is notable for the meticulously executed floral scroll, which creates a sharp and pleasing contrast against the iron-red ground. While iron-red was already used to decorate Cizhou wares in the Jin dynasty (1115-1234), and was adopted at Jingdezhen during the Yuan dynasty, it was only in the 18th century, when all enamels were scrutinised as to their unique properties, that its decorative potential was fully realised. Iron-red, which adheres in a thin, opaque layer, allows for razor-sharp lines, which could not be achieved with other enamels that are thicker and glassier. This property makes ‘negative’ reverse designs most successful, giving it a delicacy rarely seen with ‘positive’ painting on a white ground.

Porcelain wares decorated with ‘negative’ reverse designs on an iron-red ground are the product of the creative genius of Tang Ying (1682-1756), Superintendent of the Imperial kilns during the Yongzheng (1723-1735) and early Qianlong (1736-1795) periods. A bondservant of the Plain White Banner, who had served at the court from the age of 16, Tang is credited with the introduction of novel techniques and designs. Luxuriant floral scrolls against an iron-red ground first appeared on Yongzheng mark and period boxes, such as one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 70; and another from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, published in Margaret Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares, London, 1978, pl. 163.

A closely related bowl, from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, col. pl. 92; another is published in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 483; and a third in the Baerwald collection was included in the exhibition Ausstellung chinesischer Kunst, Preußische Akademie der Künste, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 1034. See also three bowls from the Ohlmer collection in the Roemer Museum, illustrated in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan, Cologne, 1981, pls 30-32; two bowls sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th November 1996, lot 787, and 31st October 1995, lot 497; and a pair sold at Christie’s London, 18th June 2002, lot 245.

Bowls enamelled with this design continued to be popular in the succeeding reigns; compare a Daoguang example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated in Suzanne Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 282; and a pair from the T.Y. Chao collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms in 1980, at Christie’s London in 1983, and more recently in our Hong Kong rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 528.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 13 May 2015, 11:00 AM