Lot 82. A fine pink-enameled cup, Yongzheng mark and period. Diameter 3 1/2  in., 8.7 cm. Estimate 50,000 — 60,000 USD. Lot sold 118,750 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

finely potted with thin rounded sides rising from a short slightly tapered foot, the exterior evenly covered with a bright pink enamel, the interior and base reserved in white, six-character mark in underglaze blue within double circles. 

Property from the Songzhutang Collection

Provenance: Bluett & Sons, London (according to label).
John Sparks Ltd., London (by repute).
Bonhams London, 8th June 2004, lot 130. 

Note: Yongzheng porcelain cups of this small size represent one of the most technically challenging porcelains produced. They required absolute precision in potting, glazing and firing, as the smallest imperfection resulted in the destruction of the piece.

Compare a pair of shallower pink-glazed cups with six-character Yongzheng marks, such as a pair published in The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1991, pl. 126; and another illustrated in Shoudu Bowuguan cangci xuan, Beijing, 1991, pl. 147, in the Capital Museum, Beijing.

Sotheby's. Monochrome, New York, 15 sept. 2015