Lot 223. A fine pair of doucai 'duck and lotus' bowls, Daoguang seal marks and period (1821-1850), 16.5 cm, 6 1/2  in. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's. 

each finely potted with curved sides rising from a flat slightly recessed base, the exterior delicately detailed with a continuous scene of mandarin ducks swimming amidst large lotus blooms, under an underglaze blue band of sinuous five-clawed dragons chasing 'flaming pearls', painted in the interior with a central medallion of a pair of ducks in a lotus pond, with a band of lança characters at the rim, the base inscribed with a seal mark. Quantité: 2

Provenance: John Sparks Ltd., London (according to label).

Note: Finely painted with cranes and ducks in a lotus pond, this pair of bowls was directly inspired by treasured Chenghua originals with only minor variations in the design, such as the more elaborate tails of the cranes and the proportions of the flowers. A closely related bowl, from the Simon Kwan collection, was included in the exhibition Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 31; a pair is illustrated in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 516; another pair was sold in these rooms, 15th June 1982, lot 386; and two bowls were sold in our Hong Kong rooms, the first, 1st December 1977, lot 36, and the second, 29th May 1978, lot 849.

Bowls of this type are also known without the enamels and rendered only in underglaze blue, such as one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei included in the Museum’s exhibition Ming Chenghua ciqi tezhan, op. cit., cat. no. 87; and another included in the exhibition The Wonders of the Potter’s Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 97.

For the prototype to this bowl, see one with a Chenghua mark and of the period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Ming Chenghua ciqi tezhan [Special exhibition of Chenghua porcelain], Taipei, 1976, cat. no. 85. This motif was revived during the Jiajing reign and later under the Qianlong Emperor, and gained further popularity during the reign of Daoguang. It is a highly auspicious motif as ducks swimming in pairs are symbolic of marital bless; hence bowls of this type would have been considered suitable wedding gifts.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 10 mai 2017, 02:00 PM