A rare pair of finely painted famille-rose 'peony' cups marks and period of Yongzheng

finely potted with flared sides, rising from a short footring, exquisitely painted on the interior in brilliant famille-rose enamels with a butterfly amongst flowering peonies, the exterior similarly decorated with peony blossoms and delicate buds on a gnarled and leafy stem, inscribed on the base with the six-character mark in underglaze-blue within double-circles

One of the cups has a hairline of 1.3 cm to the rim and a short firing crack of 0.1 cm to the base. The overall condition of that cup is very good, and that for the other cup is excellent. The enamelling on both cups is well preserved.
"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."

In a superb display of artistic proficiency, these exquisitely enamelled cups are extremely rare for their design which rises from the foot and over the rim into the interior. This decorative technique is known as guozhi, and was one of the great innovations of Tang Ying, Superintendent at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. Designs were 'wrapped' around vessels by treating the three-dimensional porcelain surface like a two-dimensional canvas, a method more commonly known on Yongzheng wares enamelled with flowering and fruiting peach branches, such as a bowl illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV. Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 155, and sold in our London rooms, 16^th May 2007, lot 104. For a slightly larger bowl of similar form also decorated with a unique design of bats amongst a gourd vine that extends into the interior, see one published in Julian Thompson, The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, pl. 95.

The present cups are particularly delicate in their decorative concepts and are perhaps most closely related in style to the bowls painted with butterfly and floral medallions; for example see one illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 226. The butterflies on both the bowl and the present cup have been depicted in the same pointillist way while the subtle outlines of the flowers and leaves add to the overall sensitivity of the scene. In subject and style of painting, these cups are a development of wucai cups decorated with butterflies and plants from the late Kangxi and early Yongzheng periods; see a small pair adorned with butterflies and date plums, with an apocryphal Chenghua mark, in the Meiyintang collection published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, pt. II, London, 2010, pl. 1742.

Apart from its very naturalistic depiction of the design, the 'peony and butterflies' decoration is also rich in its symbolism. The 'king of the flowers', the peony is the flower of wealth and honour as it was first grown in the imperial gardens of the Sui (589-618) and Tang (618-906) dynasties. When pictured with butterflies, which represent blessings, happiness and longevity, the motif symbolises the wish for an accumulation of blessings, wealth and high social status (fudie fugui).