Lot 3604. A fine and very rare wucai 'Rose' month cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 6.5 cm, 2 1/2  in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,062,500 HKD (136,861 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

delicately potted of deep 'U'-shape rising from a short straight foot to a flared rim, painted on one side in the wucai palette in underglaze blue and overglaze enamels with a red rose growing on moss-covered ground, one long stem overhanging some low-growing blue berries, and one prickly stem growing straight upright, with a yellow and a green butterfly on either side, representing the tenth month, the reverse inscribed with a poem relating to the flowers in front, followed by the seal shang ('to appreciate'), the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double circle. 

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 1996, lot 753 (one of a pair).

Note: The poem on the present cup can be translated as follows: