A blue and white 'Lotus pond' bowl, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate $6,000 – $8,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The deep, rounded sides are decorated on the exterior with a continuous scene of a lotus pond, with water birds either wading in the water or in flight above, the decoration repeated in a medallion in the bottom of the interior below a diaper band at the rim. A four-character mark, Xinlin chunyan ('Spring banquet in the apricot grove'), is in underglaze blue within a double circle on the base. 8 ¼ in. (21 cm.) diam.

Provenance: Michael L. Vermeer, Atlanta, Georgia.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza