A blue and white porcelain meiping with birds on branch, Wang Bu (1896-1968), with two seals, 1920-1935. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,700 - 4,400). Photo: Bonhams.

Carefully potted with a rolled rim to the short neck and a body of elongated pear form spreading outward above the foot, painted in well-controlled shades of cobalt with two chicks resting on gnarled tree branches that extend from the neck to the foot, the seal Wang Bu in seal script written to the lower right of the branches and the seal yuan wen wu guo zhi zhai written in seal script to the base beneath a lustrous glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad. 6 3/4in (17cm) high

Notes: For small vases of similar subject matter by the artist, see Simon Kwan, Chinese Porcelain of the Republic Period, 2008, no. 89, pp. 236-7, with the same Wang Bu seal and the six-character studio mark written in a straight line to the base ( 21.4cm high, as 1920-1935); and no. 90, pp. 237-8, the six-character studio seal written in similar seal script characters to the base (15.3cm high, as 1920-1935).

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO