Lot 3378. A rare blue and white 'peach blossom' cup, Kangxi six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1662-1722); 2 5/8 in. (6.6 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price Realized HKD 4,120,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The cup is delicately potted with flaring sides, with the exterior delicately painted representing the third month with a luxuriant blossoming peach tree growing from a grassy plane. The reverse has an inscription which may be translated to 'The swallow returns when the blossoms sway in the breeze; the farmer returns to his field in this season late in Spring', followed by a seal mark reading Shang, 'Appreciation', stand.

Note: It is rather rare to find cups emblematic of the twelve months painted in underglaze blue rather than in famille verte enamels. A complete set of cups for all twelve months was in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 71. One set is in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 21. Another complete set is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art - Chinese Ceramics IV - Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 105B. A set of six was included in the Exhibition of the George de Menasce Collection, Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1972, Catalogue, no. 373.