Lot 1848. An early Ming blue and white bowl, Xuande six character-mark within double-circles and of the period (1426-1435);  12½ in. (31.8 cm.) long. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,200,000. Price Realized: 967,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2008 

Finely potted with deep rounded sides rising to a slightly flared rim, painted in inky-blue tones to the interior with a central medallion containing a lotus borne on a leafy sprig, the well painted with a composite floral meander issuing peony, chrysanthemum, gardenia, lotus and rose blossoms below a pencilled floral scroll at the rim, the exterior with a further arched scroll issuing five lotus flowers below a key-fret border at the rim and lotus petals radiating upward from the foot encircled with a classic scroll, Japanese wood box. 

Note: Bowls of this pattern with Xuande marks from both public and private collections have been published. Comparable examples include: one illustrated by M. Tregear, Guide to Chinese Ceramics in the Ashmolean Museum, pl. 30; one by R. L. Hobson in the Percival David Foundation Catalogue, pl. CXXXIV; one included in Chinese Porcelain, The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, pl. 22. Compare also the example in the Pope collection included in the Exhibition of Ming Blue and White, Philadelphia Museum, 1949, cat. no. 45; and one from an important Southeast Asian collection sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 17 May 1988, lot 17.

Christie's. Hong Kong. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 27 May 2008