A pair of wucai 'Month' cups, Daoguang seal marks and period. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

each painted with a blossoming crab-apple tree, emblematic of the second lunar month, growing among grass, rocks, and a few smaller plants, inscribed Qingxiang he suyu, jiase chu qingyan (The fragrance blends with the flavor of evening rain, The beautiful color stands out in clear weather like in mist), followed by the seal shang (to appreciate), seal marks inscribed in underglaze-blue (2).  Diameter 1 15/16  in., 4.9 cm

Provenance: Sotheby's Paris, 16th December 2010, lot 281.

Note: See another Daoguang month cup sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2007, lot 525. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 15 sept. 2015