A FINE AND VERY RARE PAIR OF RUBY-GROUND 'FAMILLE-ROSE' BOWLS YUZHI MARKS AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

each delicately potted with shallow rounded sides springing from a short foot, superbly enamelled on the exterior in brilliant shades of the 'famille-rose' palette with a profusion of blooms overlapping in places, comprising daises, chrysanthemum, mallow, a yellow day-lily, and pale yellow and blue peonies rising from the base, the flowers growing alongside slender curved stems with feathery leaves in transparent green, the veins subtly rendered in black pencil-thin lines, all on an rich ruby-red ground neatly applied leaving the lip white, with a fine white glaze covering the interior, the base inscribed with the four-character mark within a double-square

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3rd May 1994, lot 227.

The bowls are in very good condition overall. There is a slight crackle to the glaze of the pale blue enamel.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This exquisitely enamelled pair of bowls belong to a small group of wares made for the use of the Yongzheng emperor and bear the Yongzheng yuzhi marks. Two bowls of this design can be found in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and are illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Fine Enamelled Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty: Yung-cheng Period, Book II, Hong Kong, 1967, pls. 34-35. Another similar bowl, in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command, Hong Kong, 1976, pl. 5; one in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is published in Rose Kerr, Chinese Art and Design, London, 1992, pl. 92 right; and one from the T.Y. Chao collection was sold in these rooms, 18th November 1986, lot 130, and again, 5th November 1996, lot 87.

This design is based on a Kangxi prototype and remained popular until the end of the Qing dynasty. In the Kangxi period the bowls were, however, of different form and the design was reserved on a coral-red ground. A pair of Kangxi bowls of flared shape, from the T.Y. Chao collection was sold in these rooms, 19th May 1987, lot 303, of which one of them is illustrated in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 379.

Only from the Yongzheng period onwards does this design appear on bowls of the present shape and with the enamels reserved on a ruby ground. One bowl of another pair of Yongzheng pieces, sold in these rooms, 29th November 1977, lot 163, is illustrated in Sotheby's Hong Kong, Twenty Years: 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 221, together with a Jiaqing version of the same pattern, pl. 222.