Lot 3. A fine and rare small copper-red 'sanduo' waterpot, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795). Width 5.1 cm, 2 in. Estimate: 15,000 - 20,000 GBP. Lot sold 93,750 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the slightly tapering sides rising from a recessed base to rounded shoulders and an incurved rim, finely painted around the sides with flowering and fruiting branches of the sanduo ('Three Abundances'), all between a band of ruyi scrolls to the rim and a lappet border around the foot, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Note: This charming waterpot is unusual for its small size. Compare a closely related example included in the exhibition Zhongguo mingtao Riben xunhui zhan [Exhibition of famous Chinese ceramics touring Japan], Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo, 1992, cat. no. 211.

Compare also a waterpot of similar dimensions and painted with the sanduo motifs in doucai enamels, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd May 1995, lot 144; and another painted in underglaze blue, sold at Christie’s London, 15th May 2007, lot 279.

Sotheby's. Imperial Porcelain - A Private Collection, London, 6 November 2019