Lot 121. An exceedingly rare pair of Imperial Ming-style doucai 'baoxiang' cups, Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period (1723-1735). Estimate HK$ 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 (€230,000 - 350,000). Sold for HK$ 6,180,000 (€666,350). Photo: Bonhams.

Each finely potted with gently flared sides rising from a short tapered foot, the exterior exquisitely decorated with four radiating Ming-style baoxiang blossoms borne on meandering foliate scrolls, all painted in soft underglaze-blue outline, framing the delicate bright translucent iron-red, yellow, aubergine and light coral-red enamels, all within double underglaze-blue line borders, the interior plain, the base inscribed in underglaze-blue with a six-character kaishu reign mark within double squares. Each 7.4cm (2 7/8in) diam. (2).

Provenance: A distinguished Asian private collection

Note: The present pair of doucai 'baoxiang' cups is exceedingly rare and only one other example (which has not been published) in the Palace Museum, Beijing, appears to be recorded, museum no.GUXIN90595. 

The design of the cups follows similar ones produced during the celebrated reign of the Chenghua emperor, known for its strict standards requiring perfection of form and execution of design. The Yongzheng emperor, though a Manchu, was also a strong proponent of traditional Confucian thinking in Han Chinese culture, seeking to achieve cultural continuity, reflected in him continuing the project of compiling a history of the previous Ming dynasty to demonstrate the orthodoxy of Qing rule. His fascination with antiquity led him to repeatedly send antiques from the Palace to the kilns to serve as standards for quality, models for designs and as inspiration for innovation; see Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, Taipei, 2009, p.159; and E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The Three Emperors 1662 - 1795, London, 2005, p.245. 

According to Tao Cheng Jishi Beiji, 'Commemorative Stele on Ceramic Production', which was composed by Tang Ying (1682-1756), the renowned supervisor of the Imperial porcelain kilns, the Yongzheng emperor commissioned wucai cups after the type produced during the Chenghua period, of which the doucai style was originally probably referred to as wucai; see Jiang Jianxin, 'Revised Interpretation of Records on the Commemorative Stele on Ceramic Production by Tang Ying', in Jingdezhen Taoci Kaogu Yanjiu, The Institute of Ceramic Archaeology of Jingdezhen City, Beijing, 2013, pp.236-248. 

Cups of similar design to the present lot were made during the Chenghua reign, with three examples unearthed from Zhushan, Jingdezhen. See a doucai baoxiang cup, Chenghua six-character mark within a double square and of the period, illustrated in A Legacy of Chenghua, Hong Kong, 1993, no.C95; and two further similar blue and white baoxiang cups, Chenghua six-character marks within double squares and of the period, missing their enamels, illustrated in Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2003, nos.129 and 130. 

A Legacy of Chenghua, Hong Kong, 1993, no.C95

Special Exhibition of Ch’eng-hua Porcelain Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2003, nos.129 and 130

It is therefore very likely that the present pair of cups belong to a very rare small group of doucai cups commissioned by the Yongzheng emperor after the Chenghua period prototypes. 

Compare a related pair of Ming-style doucai 'lingzhi' cups, Yongzheng six-character marks and period, also made after a Chenghua period prototype, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3523. 

A fine and rare pair of Ming-style doucai 'lingzhi' cups, Yongzheng six-character marks  and period (1723-1735). Price realised HKD 3,620,000 (USD 467,501) at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3523. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

 Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 30 May 2017, 15:00 HKT, HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY