A fine copper red-glazed stem bowl, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period. Estimate US$20,000 - 30,000 (€18,000 - 26,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Molded with a flared rim to the wide, curving well and raised on a tall conical foot, the dark copper red wash on the interior and exterior walls stopping along both sides of the rim where the white fabric is visible beneath the colorless glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad, the glaze of more pronounced greenish-white hue on the interior foot where the mark is written in a single line of seal script. 5 7/8in (15cm) diameter; 4 5/8in (11.7cm) high

Notes: The stem cup with copper red glaze made its first appearance during the Yuan Period. For examples from the Yuan and early Ming preserved in the Palace Museum, see Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Quanji 37: Yanse You (The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 37: Monochrome Porcelain), 1999, no. 2 (Yuan), p. 3 and no. 4 (Yongle), p. 5. Copies for imperial use during the Qing period are known from the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, but seldom appear at auction. A cup of the similar size, also Qianlong mark and of the period, sold in Christie's, South Kensington sale 8833, 17 May 2013, lot 1333 (4 1/2in, 11.5cm high). See also the Qianlong copper-red stem cup of similar diameter to this lot (15.2cm) offered in the Marchant, London, Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics Tang to Qing, 6-30 May 2014, no. 58; from the collection of Mr. Y.C. Chen.

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