Lot 573. A large famille-verte 'Water Margin' dish, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 37.1 cm. Lot Sold 19,050 USD (Estimate 8,000 - 12,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

the base with an Artemisia leaf in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Provenance: Collection of Dr. Günter Schäper (1930-2014)

Note: A nearly identical dish, from the Salting bequest, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (accession no. C.1221-1910).

Lot 574. A pair of finely enameled famille-verte 'qilin and phoenix' dishes, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 36.8 cm. Lot Sold 15,240 USD (Estimate 12,000 - 15,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

the base of each with an Artemisia leaf in underglaze blue within a double circle (2).

Provenance: Daelemans Family Collection.

Exhibited: Recent Acquisitions, Marchant, London, 2007, cat. no. 42.

Lot 576. A wucai 'scrolling peony' ovoid jar, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722). Height 23.5 cm. Lot Sold 53,340 USD (Estimate 30,000 - 40,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 29th November 1977, lot 56.
Bluett & Sons, London.

Note: A similar jar from the Scheinman Collection was included in the exhibition of Born of Earth and Fire: Chinese Ceramics from the Scheinman Collection, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, 1992, cat, no. 84, and later sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 22nd April 2021, lot 3634.

Lot 577. A famille-verte 'Romance of the Western Chamber' square bowl, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Width 18.8 cm. Lot Sold 25,400 USD (Estimate 10,000 - 12,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

the base with a handled vessel in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Provenance: Marc Michot, Bruges, circa 2000.
European Private Collection.

Exhibited: 90th Anniversary Exhibition. Qing Porcelain from Private Collections, Marchant, London, 2015, cat. no. 10.

Note: The scenes of the present bowl are taken from the famous story of a secret love affair between the young scholar Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying, the daughter of a Tang dynasty minister. Originating in the Tang dynasty, the tale was adopted by Wang Shifu of the Yuan dynasty in the popular drama Xixiangji [Romance of the West Chamber], which became a major source of inspiration for scholars and artists during the 17th century.

The present bowl is an outstanding example of Kangxi imperial porcelain in which the craftsman has successfully captured the drama of the scenes taken from woodblock print illustrations of the story and rendered in a famille-verte palette. A sense of dynamism is captured through the use of outlines which have been drawn in swift yet fine strokes, and attention is cleverly drawn to the interactions between the figures. 

See a famille-verte bowl of closely related form, similarly painted with scenes from Xixiangji, exhibited in Stephen Little, Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period 1620-1683, New York, 1984, cat. no. 55 and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 2nd June 2015, lot 3227. Compare a pair of bowls, also decorated with scenes from the novel, illustrated in Jeffrey P. Stamen, Cynthia Volk with Yibin Ni, A Culture Revealed, Kangxi-Era Chinese Porcelain from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, Bruges, 2017, cat. no. 12.

Lot 578. A pair of yellow-ground famille-verte 'four fish' dishes, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 27.3 cm. Lot Sold 7,620 USD (Estimate 6,000 - 8,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

 the base of each with a flowerhead in underglaze blue within a double circle (2).

Provenance: French Private Collection.

Exhibited: 90th Anniversary Exhibition. Qing Porcelain from Private Collections, Marchant, London, 2015, cat. no. 15.

Lot 579. A massive famille-verte 'floral' dish, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 52.7 cm. Lot Sold 38,100 USD (Estimate 30,000 - 40,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

the base with a ribbon in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Provenance: Collection of Baron (1914-2001) and Baroness (1912-2005) J. A. van Heeckeren van Molecaten.
Paul Brandt, Amsterdam, 7th-8th November 1961.
Collection of Jiles Boon (1916-2009).

Exhibited: Recent Acquisitions. Qing Porcelain, Marchant, London, 2011, cat. no. 8.
Kangxi Famille Verte, Marchant, London, 2017, cat. no. 20.

Lot 580. A famille-verte 'peony and rockwork' brushpot, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 18.4 cm. Lot Sold 53,340 USD (Estimate 30,000 - 50,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

the base with a Mushiju (Studio of Wood and Rock) seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: French Private Collection.
Sotheby's Paris, 10th June 2021, lot 131.

Exhibited: Kangxi Famille Verte from Private Collections, Marchant, London, 2021, cat. no. 11.

Note: Mushiju has been identified as a private workshop in Jingdezhen specializing in literati-inspired wares of exceptional quality. An article by Pengliang Lu, 'Where Potter Met Poets, A Kangxi Vase with a Poetry Gathering in Jingdezhen,' Arts of Asia, March-April 2017, pp 98-104, identifies the founder of Mushiju as Zhao Wenzong, a local official who moved comfortably among poets, calligraphers, and artists of the period. The superlative works from this studio illustrate the close and productive relationship between artist and artisan that flourished during the Kangxi period. A brushpot with the same mark dated to the year corresponding to 1709, from the Grandidier Collection, is in the Musée Guimet, Paris and illustrated in The World’s Great Collections, Oriental Ceramics, vol. 7, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 53. A related brushpot bearing a Mushiju seal mark, from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, was sold in these rooms, 20th March 2018, lot 310. 

Lot 582. A pair of famille-verte 'Hundred Antiques' bottle vases, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 26.6 cm. Lot Sold 12,700 USD (Estimate 10,000 - 15,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 26th June 1979, lot 89.
Belgian Private Collection.

Lot 585. A pair of powder-blue-ground famille-verte rouleau vases, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 23 cm. Lot Sold 7,620 USD (Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Collection of R.H.R. Palmer (1898-1970)

Lot 586. A large famille-verte 'figural' dish, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 39 cm. Lot Sold 7,620 USD (Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Collection of Dr. Günter Schäper (1930-2014).

Lot 586. A large famille-verte 'figural' dish, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 27.8 cm. Lot Sold 12,700 USD (Estimate 10,000 - 15,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Collection of Tore Wennberg (1905-1981)

Lot 589. A large famille-verte 'mythical beasts' deep bowl, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 33.7 cm. Lot Sold 10,160 USD (Estimate 8,000 - 12,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Collection of Nellie (1883-1962) and Basil (1884-1950) Ionides, inv. no. 391.
Collection of David Charles Samuel (1928-1998) and M. Christiane Francoise (1927-2021) Montagu, 4th Baron and Lady Swaythling.
Christie's London, 26th May 2022, lot 1002.

Lot 590. An iron-red and gilt-decorated 'dragon' rouleau vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 46 cm. Lot Sold 22,860 USD (Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: French Private Collection.

Lot 592. A café-au-lait-ground famille-verte bowl and cover, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 15.5 cm. Lot Sold 6,350 USD (Estimate 4,000 - 6,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

the base and central interior of the bowl and cover with a hare and moon in underglaze blue within a double circle (2)

Exhibited: Kangxi Famille Verte, Marchant, London, 2017, no. 26.

Lot 595. A pair of famille-verte 'heron and lotus' dishes, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diameter 21 cm. Lot Sold 6,985 USD (Estimate 2,000 - 3,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: French Private Collection.

Lot 596. A famille-verte 'floral' fluted kendi, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 19.7 cm. Lot Sold 5,080 USD (Estimate 4,000 - 6,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Exhibited: Recent Acquisitions. Qing Porcelain, Marchant, London, 2011, cat. no. 51.

Lot 597. A famille-verte ewer and cover, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 23.6 cm. Lot Sold 9,525 USD (Estimate 7,000 - 9,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: H.R. Hancock, London.
English Private Collection.
Bonhams London, 23rd September 2015, lot 139.

Exhibited: Kangxi Famille Verte, Marchant, London, 2017, cat. no. 28.

Note: An identical ewer and possibly the mate to the present example, was sold by Ralph M. Chait, New York, to an American private collector, then sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2006, lot 340 and is illustrated in Recent Acquisitions, Marchant, London, 2007, cat. no. 47.

Lot 601. A famille-verte biscuit figure of Shoulao, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 29 cm; wood stand (2). Lot Sold 8,255 USD (Estimate 3,000 - 4,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Pierre Saqué, Paris, 24th April 1924.
French Private Collection.

Lot 602. A pair of famille-verte biscuit figures of 'Hehe Erxian', Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 14.6cm; wood stand (2). Lot Sold 2,032 USD (Estimate 2,000 - 3,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: John Sparks, Ltd., London.
Collection of David Charles Samuel (1928-1998) and M. Christiane Francoise (1927-2021) Montagu, 4th Baron and Lady Swaythling.
Christie's London, 26th May 2022, lot 1108.

Lot 603. A famille-verte biscuit seated figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 31 cm; wood stand (2). Lot Sold 5,080 USD (Estimate 4,000 - 6,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Léon Wannieck, Paris, 30th March 1926.
French Private Collection.

Lot 604. Two famille-verte biscuit duck-and-lotus-form water droppers, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Length 8.9 cm (2). Lot Sold 5,080 USD (Estimate 4,000 - 6,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Pierre Saqué, Paris, 3rd April 1929 and 23rd February 1940.
French Private Collection.

Lot 606. A group of four famille-verte biscuit figures of Budai, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height of tallest  8.3 cm; affixed wood stand (5). Lot Sold 2,286 USD (Estimate 2,000 - 3,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Three: Pierre Saqué, Paris, 8th July 1926 and 3rd April 1929.
French Private Collection.
One: La Compagnie Chinoise, Tonying, Paris.
French Private Collection.

Lot 607. A famille-verte biscuit 'Guanyin and acolytes' group, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 20.5 cm. Lot Sold 2,286 USD (Estimate 2,000 - 3,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Scandinavian Private Collection.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 22 March 2023