A RARE SLIP-DECORATED BLUE-GROUND 'FISH' BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

well potted with deep ribbed sides flaring from a short straight foot to an everted rim, brightly decorated around the exterior in white slip against a deep cobalt-blue ground with four carps in a lotus pond, the swimming fish captured in vivid poses, one plunging to low weeds, another leaping up towards the rim, the two others slipping amidst lotus pads and attendant stems springing from the water bed, all picked out with finely incised details, the base and the interior left white save for a double-line border to the interior rim, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within double circles.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 28th April 1992, lot 121.

There is a 6 cm. hairline crack to the rim, some light scratches to the interior and a few minor specks or pin-prick bubbles to the rim and base, but overall the bowl is in quite good condition.
"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."

The present bowl represents the finest slip-decorated wares produced in the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during Yongzheng's reign. The design of 'fish amongst aquatic plants' inspired by early fifteenth century Ming wares was especially favoured by the emperor who was an enthusiast for promoting Xuande and Yongle porcelain reproductions. For examples of the Ming design see a Xuande dish included in the Special Exhibition of Hsuan-te Wares, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1980, cat. no. 83, and another dish illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 64, both dishes of blue-glaze with white slip-decoration. See also a Yongzheng bowl of this design without cover from the Grandidier collection in the Musee Guimet, illustrated in Sekai tōji zenshū/Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, pl. 157 and 158.

Yongzheng bowls of this design orginally had a domed cover surmounted by a phoenix finial. See for example a Yongzheng bowl of this pattern complete with its cover in the Honolulu Academy of Arts, illustrated in ibid., vol.12, 1956, pl. 56. Another bowl and cover from the collections of George de Menasce, Pierre de Menasce and F. Gordon Morrill, and included in a number of important exhibitions such as the O.C.S. jubilee exhibition The Ceramic Art of China, London, 1971, cat. no. 234, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th May 1987, lot 586. Further examples were sold in our Paris rooms, 12th June 2008, lot 331, and at Christie's New York, 14th September 2012, lot 1466.