Lot 1. A rare blue and white stem cup, Kangxi four-character mark in underglaze blue in a line and of the period (1662-1722), 4 in. (10 cm.) high. Estimate: USD 4,000 - 6,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The deep, bell-shaped cup is raised on a tall, flaring foot and decorated in a penciled style with a spray of camellia opposite a similarly rendered spray of crabapple, all below a dentil band interrupted by a four-character Kangxi mark in a line at the rim and above plantain leaves on the foot.

Provenance: J. M. Hu (1911-1995) Collection. 
Wedding gift to H. H. Hu, early 1930s, and thence by descent to the present owner. 

Christie's. The Art of China: Online Autumn Sale