Lot 513. A grisaille-painted 'Riverscape' bowl, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735). Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

he steeply rounded sides everting to a lipped rim, finely painted to the exterior with a continuous scene of a fishing boat plying the waters through a rocky ravine with thatch-roofed cottages and a gnarled pine tree, the interior plain, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue, wood stand (2). Diameter 3 5/8  in., 9.2 cm

Provenance: Acquired between 1930-36, and thence by descent.

Note: Originating from the Yongzheng period and possibly influenced by European sepia wares, the technique for painting porcelain with black ink enabled the artisans of the imperial workshop to invoke the compelling attributes of traditional Chinese landscape painting for decorative use. 
For another closely related pair of grisaille-decorated bowls, inscribed with similar underglaze blue reign marks in three columns, see the pair from the estate of William and Jennifer Shaw, sold in these rooms 11th-12th September 2012, lot 83.  Another pair was sold in our London rooms, 20th June 2001, lot 18. Compare also a pair of bowls included in the exhibition The Wonders of the Potter’s Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 57.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 14 Mar 2017, 10:30 AM