AN UNDERGLAZE RED AND BLUE CUPSTAND MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

the deep, round, hollow bowl with an incurved rim, painted in underglaze red with a row of pendent pomegranates extending from a band of blue trefoils and key-fret around the mouth, collared by a broad flat dish painted with three sprays of flowering blossoms with roses, fruit blossoms and a flowering spray with fern-like leaves, the flowers picked out in red, the underside with six florets on stylised foliage, all supported on a slightly flared foot skirted with overlapping arches each containing a red trefoil, the inner foot inscribed with a six-character horizontal reign mark

Collection of Dr. Carl Kempe (1884-1967).
Eskenazi Ltd, London.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1716.

There is a 2mm speck of kiln grit on the dish part of the vessel. There is an iron spot on the exterior underside. However the overall condition is very good. The colour of the copper red is especially well controlled and even.
"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."

Bowl stands of this design became very popular in the Qianlong period, but Yongzheng originals are extremely rare and the present piece may be the only example extant. The difficulty to master the firing of the copper-red pigment - a challenge for the Jingdezhen potters ever since they first used it in the Yuan dynasty (AD 1279-1368) - led to several different application methods. The one used for this piece, where the red motifs are all executed as silhouettes under the glaze, with details reserved in white, is very rare.

In the Yongzheng reign this shape was also used for blue-and-white and monochrome pieces. Two monochrome Yongzheng stands of this form are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, one in monochrome white with incised designs, perhaps intended to copy Song dynasty (AD 960-1279) 'Ding' ware, the other with a thick, opaque crackled 'guan'-type glaze, also perhaps inspired by a Song model, both illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, vol. I, part II, pls 94 and 165.

A similar blue-and-white example of the Yongzheng reign and a red-and-blue example of Qianlong mark and period, both from the Nanjing Museum collection, are illustrated in Xu Huping, ed., Zhongguo Qingdai guanyao ciqi / The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pp. 139 and 219. Another bowl stand of Qianlong mark and period decorated in this unusual technique is in the Tokyo National Museum, from the collection of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke, illustrated in Tōkyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan zuhan mokuroku: Chūgoku tōji hen / Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum: Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo, 1988-90, vol. II, no. 566.