A finely enamelled doucai bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735). Estimate HK$600,000 - HK$800,000 ($77,782 - $103,709). Price realized HK$1,060,000 ($137,414). Photo Christie's Image LTD 2015

The bowl is well decorated around the exterior in delicate enamels and underglaze-blue tones to depict a leafy meander bearing six exotic blooms above a band of trefoils and frieze of lappets, the interior with a medallion enclosing a single floral bloom. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm.), diam., Japanese wood box

Provenance: Kochukyo, Tokyo, acquired prior to 1945
A Japanese private collection, formed during the 1950s and 1960s

Notes: The leafy motif on this bowl is aromatic turmeric, an herb commonly used in Chinese medicinal practices. It appears that this plant only appears on Yongzheng-period Imperial porcelain, and is rendered in various palettes includingdoucai and blue and white. Compare for example to a Yongzheng-marked blue and white bowl bearing the same decoration, in the collection of the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty. The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 137

Christie's. IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall