Lot 632. A fine copper-red-glazed bowl, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735). Diameter 6 in., 15.3 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot Sold 40,000 USD. © Sotheby's. 

the deep sides flaring and supported on a straight foot, the exterior glazed in a glossy carmine coalescing to a deeper red below the mouth and at the foot, the rim, interior and recessed base glazed white, inscribed to the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Provenance: Sir Joseph Hotung Family Trust.
Marchant, London, June 2003.

Exhibited: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec, 2012-2019 (on loan).

Literature: Karen Thomson, ed., The Blema and H. Arnold Steinberg Collection, Montreal, 2015, pl. 149.

Note: Due to its unpredictability in the kiln, copper red glazes proved to be the most challenging for Chinese potters. However, as the color red is associated with celebration and happiness, these glazes were much in demand from the early Ming dynasty onwards. These glazes were revived and perfected during the Qing after a period of disuse towards the end of the Ming dynasty.