Lot 3116. A fine blue and white 'boys' square vase, mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 12.5 cm., 4 7/8 in. Estimate 1,200,000 — 1,800,000 HKD. Lot Sold 2,900,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's

of rectangular form, supported on a shallow circular footring, finely painted and washed in deep underglaze-blue on all four sides with a rectangular panel enclosing numerous boys playing in a garden, some gathered around a fish bowl, some with hobby horses and lotus leaf parasols, some on a garden terrace wielding a Buddhist image, prayer beads and a double gourd and others playing with twigs whilst storytelling, all reserved on a ground filled with scrolling lotus, the base with an underglaze blue six-character mark.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st November 1999, lot 378.  

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 april 2011