Lot 173. A rare famille rose ruby-ground 'prunus' bowl, Blue-enamelled Qingyitang zhi four-character mark, Qianlong-Jiaqing (1736-1820); 17cm (6 3/4in) diam. Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 (€2,400 - 3,600). Photo: Bonhams.

Delicately enamelled around the exterior with gnarled branches of white plum blossom reserved against a ruby-red ground.

Provenance: a British private collection, and thence by descent 

Note: The mark on the present lot reading 'Qingyitang zhi (慶宜堂製)' may be translated as 'made for the Hall of Appropriate Felicity'. The owner and origin of Qingyitang remained unclear, but the studio mark appears to have been used as early as the Yongzheng period, with examples known in subsequent decades until the reign of Daoguang. 

For a related famille rose dish decorated with millefleurs design, second half of the 18th century, enamelled with a similar four-character 'Qingyitang zhi' mark to the base, in the Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, see Rare Marks on Chinese Ceramics: A joint exhibition from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum London, 1998, p.120, no.50.

A similar famille rose bowl decorated with prunus branches reserved on a ruby ground, Qingyitang zhi mark, Qianlong/Jiaqing, was sold at Christie's New York on 16-17 September 2010, lot 1487.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 11 May 2017, 11:00 BST, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET