AN UNDERGLAZE-RED WATER COUPE, PINGUOZUN MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI

of globular form, the rounded sides rising from a recessed base to an incurved rim, decorated in bright underglaze red with sprays of stylized peony, lotus, chrysanthemum and hibiscus, each wreathed by feathery scrolls and picked out with deeper striation, all between a border of scrolling lotus around the neck and a band of lotus petals encircling the foot, and enclosed within lines of underglaze blue, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue

Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d’Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 146.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 733.

There is a four pointed star crack to the body with an associated flake in the glaze secured with resin, one prong extending on approx. 3.5 cm on one side and on approx. 11 cm toward the other side of the belly. There are two further associated hairline cracks at the rim (2 and 3 cm). The undeglaze red is more pale and the white background a little more bluish grey than the illustration would suggest in the catalogue.
"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."

Small apple-shaped jars such as the present piece were designed in the Kangxi reign (AD 1662-1722) and are also known in monochrome ‘peachbloom’ and ‘clair-de-lune’ versions. Other examples decorated with this underglaze copper-red design are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 39, pl. 22; and in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 72. One from the collection of Edward T. Chow, now in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, was sold in these rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 540; another was sold twice in these rooms, 1st November 1994, lot 173, and 31st October 2004, lot 172, and at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st December 2009, lot 1885, and is illustrated in Sotheby's. Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 293.