Lot 90. A small Qingbai foliate dish, Song dynasty (960-1279). Diameter 5 3/8  in., 13.6 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

thinly potted with gently rounded sides rising to a slightly flared petal-lobed rim, the cavetto with six thin vertical lines of slip demarcating the petals, covered overall with a pale blue-green glaze suffused with a network of fine craquelure.

Provenance: Priestley & Ferraro, London.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 Sep 2017, 10:00 AM

Lot 91. A Qingbai circular ewer, Yuan dynasty (1279-1366). Height 4 5/8  in., 11.8 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

of flattened form supported on a flared foot surmounted by a short, waisted mouth with lipped rim flanked by a loop handle and curved spout, each side decorated in relief with a central lotus enclosed by four scroll-filled cartouches within a geometric band and beaded border, covered overall in a soft blue-green glaze, the base unglazed.

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, London, 1994.
Dutch Private Collection.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 Sep 2017, 10:00 AM

Dirck Van Baburen (circa 1594 Utrecht 1624), Violin player with a wine glass, 1623. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated upper left: T. D. Baburen. F. Ao. 1623, 80.4 x 67.1 cm. Estimate CHF 60 000 / 80 000 | (€ 55 560 / 74 070). Photo: Koller

Provenance: In a Swiss private collection for several generations. 

Our thanks to Dr. Wayne E. Franits who has confirmed the authenticity of this painting on the basis of a photograph.

Koller. Old Master Paintings - Friday 22 September 2017 03.00 PM

Lot 92. A russet-splashed black-glazed bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Diameter 5 1/4  in., 13.2 cm. Estimate 8,000 - 12,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the deep rounded sides rising from a high straight foot to an everted rim, the interior covered with a lustrous black glaze accentuated with russet splashes, the exterior with a russet glaze falling short above the foot to reveal the pale buff-colored stoneware body.

Provenance: Acquired prior to the 1950s.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 Sep 2017, 10:00 AM

Delft Master, circa 1640, Still life of fruits on a table, 1640. Oil on panel. Signed and dated lower right: K. Coiy. 1640, 51.5 x 65 cm. Estimate CHF 8 000 / 12 000 | (€ 7 410 / 11 110). Photo Koller

Lot 3039. Claes Van Heussen (1598/99 Haarlem 1631/34), Still life with grapes and pears in a basket, with peaches, apricots, plum and pomegranate with insects on a stone slab, 1630. Oil on panel. Signed and dated lower right on the stone slab: EVSTEN AN 1630, 34.3 x 54.6 cm. Estimate CHF 60 000 / 90 000 | (€ 55 560 / 83 330). Photo: Koller.

Provenance: - Christie's, London, 4.12.2013, Lot 143.
- European private collection.

Our thanks to Dr. Fred G. Meijer who, on the basis of a photograph, has identified this as a characteristic work by Claes van Heussen.

Koller. Old Master Paintings - Friday 22 September 2017 03.00 PM

Lot 93. A carved 'Yaozhou' celadon-glazed bowl, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234). Diameter 5 7/8  in., 15 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the gently rounded sides rising from a short foot, the interior skillfully carved with a central stylized flowerhead, encircled by undulating lotus scrolls, the exterior with overlapping petals, covered overall save for the foot ring with an olive-green glaze.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 Sep 2017, 10:00 AM

Lot 94. A 'Yaozhou' persimmon-glazed bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279). Diameter 4 1/4  in., 10.8 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

well potted with rounded sides rising from a straight foot, covered overall in a russet glaze transmuting to shades of olive and aubergine in scattered passages to the interior and exterior and around the rim, the glaze stopping above the foot to reveal the buff body.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 Sep 2017, 10:00 AM

Lot 901. A bronze ritual wine vessel, gui, Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC, 10 ¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The trumpet-shaped neck is flat-cast with four upright blades rising from a band of leiwen pattern, and the middle section and spreading foot with taotie masks divided and separated by narrow notched flanges, those on the foot below a band of kui dragons, all on a leiwenground and filled with leiwen. A single graph is cast on the interior of the foot. The bronze has a mottled green patina. 

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 9 June 1992, lot 2.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Lot 902. A malachite-inlaid bronze halbert blade, Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC, 9 1/8 in. (23.2 cm.) long. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The blade is cast with a median ridge and with a hafting hole, and is decorated on both sides of the pierced nei with kui dragons filled with malachite inlay. The bronze has malachite encrustation, wood stand, fitted Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: In Japan prior to 1973.

Note: Two late Shang ge of very similar form, but decorated with taotie masks filled with turquoise inlay, were found in the tomb of Fu Hao in Anyang, and are illustrated in Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, pl. 70, nos. 1-2. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Lot 95. A 'Jizhou' painted 'ducks' vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Height 7 5/8  in., 19.5 cm. Estimate 30,000 - 50,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

of ovoid form, the gently rounded sides painted in brown slip with three shaped cartouches each enclosing a pair of mandarin ducks in a lotus pond, reserved on a ground of interlocking wanzi fret all above a scroll border at the foot, a band of lappets at the shoulder and keyfret encircling the straight cylindrical neck.

Note: Compare a similar Jizhou vase sold in our London rooms, 2nd December 1997, lot 183. 

Lot 96. A pair of 'Jizhou'-type 'tortoiseshell' vases, Southern Song-Yuan dynasty (1127-1368). Height of taller 6 1/8  in., 15.6 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 8,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

each of baluster form rising from a slightly splayed foot to a slender waisted neck and flared mouth, covered with a lustrous persimmon glaze with tan spots over swathes dappled with dark brown, the glaze stopping above the base to reveal the brown clay body (2).

Provenance: Collection of Benjamin Shepps, Florida (according to label).
Weisbrod Chinese Art, New York. 

Lot 98. A pair of 'Jizhou''tortoiseshell'-glazed bowls, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Diameter 4 1/2  in., 11.4 cm. Estimate 30,000 - 50,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

each with deep rounded sides rising to a slightly everted rim, covered overall with a dark brownish-black glaze and splashed with caramel-beige tones simulating tortoiseshell, the glaze stopping neatly above the short foot (2).

Note: Southern Song potters at Jiangxi province's Jizhou kilns developed this lively dappled glaze to apply to various forms of stoneware cups, bowls, and vases. Known in Chinese and English as 'tortoiseshell' glaze, it is characterized by an overall black-coffee color inflected with creamy tones ranging from deep amber to taupe, as seen on the present bowls. The effect seems to have been created by first dipping the vessel in a medium-brown slip glaze then, following the drying, dipping it in a darker brown glaze slurry, splashing it with a paste of wood or bamboo-ash and water, drying it again, and finally firing it right side up in the saggar. 

Lot 951. A huanghuali rectangular corner-leg side table, banzhuo, 17th century, 34 in. (86.4 cm.) high, 42 ¼ in. (107.3 cm.) wide, 22 ¾ in. (57.9 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 100,000 - USD 150,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The single floating panel top is set in the rectangular frame above a narrow waist and plain apron. The legs are of square section joined by humpback stretchers and terminate in hoof feet. 

Provenance: Chan Shing Kee, Hong Kong, October 2007.

Property from The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection

Literature: V. Bower, S. Handler and J. Burris, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, 2008, p. 55, fig. 25.

Exhibited: Cincinnati, Taft Museum of Art, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, 7 November 2008 - 11 January 2009.

Note: Compare the huanghuali corner-leg table of similar proportions and construction sold at Christie's New York, 17 March 2016, lot 1308.

A small huanghuali corner-leg side table, 17th century; 34 ½ in. (88.3 cm.) high, 45 in. wide (114.3 cm.), 21 ½ in. (54.6 cm.) deep. Sold for USD 100,000 at Christie's New York, 17 March 2016, lot 1308. © Christie's Images Ltd 2016

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Lot 954. A pair of huanghuali rectangular side tables, banzhuo, 17th century; 34 1/8 in. (86.7 cm.) high, 38 ¾ in. (98.4 cm.) wide, 19 ½ in. (49.5 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 250,000 - USD 350,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Each table has a single floating panel set within the rectangular frame, above a narrow waist and shaped, beaded aprons. The cusped aprons are finely carved with confronting chilong. The legs of square section are joined by beaded humpback stretchers. 

Provenance: Zen Gallery, Brussels, March 1996.

Property from The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection

Literature: V. Bower, S. Handler and J. Burris, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, 2008, p. 54, fig. 24.

Exhibited: Cincinnati, Taft Museum of Art, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, 7 November 2008 - 11 January 2009.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Very Rare and Important 13.26 carat Ruby and Diamond Ring, Designed and Mounted by BHAGAT. Est. HK$68,000,000 – 88,000,000/US$8,700,000 – 11,260,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

HONG KONG.- On 3 October, Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Autumn Sale 2017 will bring to the market a series of iconic masterpieces hailing from legendary jewellers, highlighted by a rare art deco ‘Tutti Frutti’ Cartier bracelet, an exquisite 8.49-carat ruby ring by JAR and an impressive emerald and diamond parure by Van Cleef & Arpels. The sale will also feature a fine selection of rare coloured diamonds, exceptional gemstones and bejewelled garden themed selection inspired by the flora and fauna of nature. Over 250 lots estimated in excess of HK$650,000,000/US$83,000,000 will be offered this season. 

QUEK Chin Yeow, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia and Chairman of International Jewellery, Asia, said, “We are extremely pleased to present a great selection of the marvellous jewels to captivate our Asian jewellery connoisseurs: From an iconic Cartier ‘Tutti Frutti’ masterpiece to an amazingly rare ‘pigeon’s blood’ ruby in a revolutionary mounting by India supremo, BHAGAT, not to mention blue and pink diamonds and an array of precious gemstones. We are also delighted to offer a great rarity - The Woolworth Yard Jadeite Necklace which dates from 1957.” 

SALE HIGHLIGHTS 
TIMELESS TALES OF LEGENDARY JEWELLERS 

A Rare and Important Art Deco Gem Set and Diamond 'Tutti-Frutti' Bracelet, Cartier Est. HK$10,500,000 – 14,000,000/US$1,300,000 – 1,800,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s. 

A witness to the fin-de-siècle when Art Deco was at its peak, this classic 'Tutti-Frutti' bracelet by Cartier weds the bold and vibrant designs of the East to the elegant and classic aesthetics of the West. Rich with Indian influences, the Tutti Frutti jewels blossomed with ripe Mughal fruits and foliage, each individual piece an intricately carved sapphire, ruby or emerald, intertwined with a ribbon of diamonds. Following its inception, Cartier’s ateliers became an obligatory stopover for visiting Maharajas. Christened the name ‘Tutti Frutti’ in 1970, the exuberant colours and sumptuous textures bear testament to one of Cartier’s most iconic collections of the Art Deco era. 

An Exquisite 8.49ct Burmese Ruby and Diamond Ring, JAR. Est. HK$13,000,000 – 15,000,000/US$1,700,000 – 1,900,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s. 

Through the years, part of the JAR mystique has come from the fact that the jewels were so rarely seen in public. An exhibition at London’s Somerset House in 2002-2003 caused a sensation within the international jewellery world, whilst the 2013 Metropolitan Museum, New York retrospective, Jewels by JAR, demonstrated the full force of his protean talent. Featuring in The Impossible Collection of Jewellery: The 100 Most Important Jewels of the Twentieth Century publication, JAR’s jewels rank amongst the great art jewels of history. This 8.49ct Burmese Ruby and Diamond Ring, displays JAR’s fine, meticulous pavé work. His attention to detail demonstrated in the simple mounting of the ring itself. When worn, the ruby is designed to be in constant contact to the wearer’s skin, accentuating the gem’s associations with power and protection, creating a subtle but significant connection between the gem and the wearer. 

Exquisite Jade, Diamond and Ruby Brooch, BHAGAT. Est. HK$2,000,000 – 2,800,000/US$256,000 – 358,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Crowned with the majesty of the opulent Indian treasures, BHAGAT jewels encompass the sophistication of Mughal artistry and the grandeur of Islamic structures, blended with the elegancy of Art Deco; an incarnation of the past enduring through the present. Ardent admirers of jade, Mughal emperors delighted in collecting exquisitely carved works of jade, symbolising their dynastic aspirations and exhibiting the acculturative genius of Mughal style of art with the harmonious integration of intercultural influences. Designed as a stylized poppy, the flower gracefully emerges from a sinuous diamond encrusted stem, which terminates in an old-mine pear-shaped diamond leaf. The sensuousness and tactile qualities of Mughal jade resonates through the delicate celadon green jade, carved with contrasting techniques used between the front and rear petals. 

Fine Sapphire and Diamond Ring, 'Les Voyages Extraordinaires', Van Cleef & Arpels. Est. HK$2,800,000 - 3,800,000/US$360,000 – 490,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Les Voyages Extraordinaires™, Van Cleef & Arpel’s whimsical collection inspired by four of Jules Verne’s fantastical novels, pays tribute to the history of the Maison and its indefatigable representatives who travel the globe in the quest of the finest gems. Of this collection, four exceptional rings were made especially for its presence in the 25th Biennale des Antiques in Paris, representing each of the four Verne novels; Five Weeks in a Balloon, From the Earth to the Moon, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Named the Hydôr Ring, this ring is inspired by Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Dedicated to the fluidity of water, the swirling gradient of bright diamonds to light and dark sapphires are reminiscent of the gradual plunge deep into the oceanic abyss. Whilst the 20.04 carat sapphire, fixed as the glorious centre, remains the constant – a reminder of how inescapably the ocean reigns supreme. 

The Woolworth Yard Jadeite Necklace. Jadeite Bead and Diamond Necklace, Raymond Yard, 1957. Est. HK$400,000 – 600,000/US$51,500 – 77,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Made in 1957, this Jadeite Bead and Diamond Necklace reflects the classic Yard Art Deco aesthetics of aiming to achieve an overall luminous sophistication; a look that would not overwhelm the design. An image of the Art Deco clasp rendering retrieved from the Raymond Yard archives, records Mr. Woolworth as purchasing this exquisite piece for the Woolworth collection – a celebrated legacy shared by Woolworth and Yard.  

RARE DIAMONDS 

Very Rare and Important Fancy Deep Blue Diamond Ring. Est. HK$55,000,000 – 75,000,000/US$7,000,000 – 9,600,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Blue diamonds possess the captivating colour and intensity reminiscent of the depths of the Azure Sea and are considered amongst the world’s rarest coloured diamonds. To find a pure blue diamond with the level of saturation required to grade it as Fancy Deep is extraordinary; of which less than 10% of blue diamonds examined by the GIA are awarded. In recent years, Sotheby’s has been at the forefront of record-setting auction prices for blue diamonds. In 2015, Sotheby’s Geneva set the then world auction record for any blue diamond with the sale of The Blue Moon of Josephine for an astounding US$48,468,158. Whilst Sotheby’s Hong Kong has been leading with an offering of blue diamonds this past decade, with the recent Millennium Jewel 4 in 2016, as well as setting the current world auction record price-per carat for a Fancy Intense Blue diamond earlier this spring. 

Exquisite Pair of 5.21 and 5.01 carats Fancy Pink Diamond and Diamond Pendent Earrings. Est. HK$30,000,000 – 40,000,000/US$3,840,000 – 5,120,000 

Each set with a pear-shaped fancy pink diamond weighing 5.21 and 5.01 carats. Both Fancy Pink diamonds accompanied by GIA reports stating that the diamonds are natural, Fancy Pink Colour, Internally Flawless and VS1 clarity respectively. 

Very Fine Unmounted Diamond, 31.98cts. Est. HK$37,000,000 – 48,000,000/US$4,700,000 – 6,000,000

A brilliant-cut diamond weighing 31.98 carats. Accompanied by a GIA report stating that the 31.98 carat diamond is D colour, Flawless, with Excellent Cut, Polish and Symmetry; as well as a Type IIa diamond classification letter. 

Important 20.03 Carat Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond Ring. Est. HK$16,000,000 – 20,000,000/US$2,050,000 – 2,560,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s. 

An Emerald-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond weighing 20.03 Carat. Accompanied by a GIA report stating that the 20.03 carat diamond is natural Fancy Vivid Yellow Colour and Internally Flawless. 

RARE COLOURED STONES

Very Rare and Important 13.26 carat Ruby and Diamond Ring, Designed and Mounted by BHAGAT. Est. HK$68,000,000 – 88,000,000/US$8,700,000 – 11,260,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Unrivalled in colour, life and vitality, rubies have long been revered as the ‘King of Gems’. The legendary mines of Burma are renowned in producing the most desirable rubies, sought after by gem connoisseurs worldwide. The colour of a ruby is the single most important criterion of a ruby’s quality – the most coveted being a bright and pure red, of high saturation.  

Given the regal name of Maniraja, meaning ‘King of Jewels’ due to its intense and homogenous red colour, the Maniraja ruby has merited the prestigious descriptive term of ‘pigeon blood’ for its high colour intensity and superb quality, from both Gübelin and SSEF Gem Laboratories. Majestic on every level, the Maniraja’s impressive size of 13.26 carats, combines an impeccable cut emphasising the exceptional lustre, whilst intensifying the crimson glow.  

One of the most acclaimed jewellers of our time, to BHAGAT, design is paramount and sacrosanct. Representing a sublime of artistry and craftsmanship, BHAGAT’s stylistic signature presents an etheral, efforless lightness, touched with both a princely hauteur and hint of sensuality. Using the cut and shape of gemstomes to create the desired silhouette of a the jewel, playing with light, texture and translucencies, this jewel boasts of its opulence with the superb majesty of the Maniraja ruby, enhancing the ravishing refinement of this original BHAGAT creation. 

Rare Paraíba Tourmaline and Diamond Ring. Est. HK$8,750,000 – 11,000,000/US$1,120,000 – 1,410,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s. 

Discovered only in the 1980s, the Paraíba has quickly become one of the world’s most coveted gemstones. This rare and enigmatic gemstone has set a new standard of excellence for colour interpretation in the world of coloured gemstones. With the Brazilian mines exhausted more than 20 years ago, to find a stone over ten carats that is of natural colour, with no clarity enhancement, is an absolute rarity. 

Padparadscha Sapphire and Diamond Ring. Est. HK$3,800,000 – 5,000,000/US$486,000 – 640,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Celebrated as an ethereal fusion of the pink glow of a lotus bloom and the soft orange hues of sunset, the Padparadscha sapphire is an embodiment of rarity and elegance. Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘padma raga’ (lotus colour), the sapphire must exhibit the distinctive blend between delicate pink to orange tones to be truly called a Padparadscha. Highly prized by gem connoisseurs, the elusive and enigmatic Padparadscha delights with its blossoming beauty and romantic hue. 

THEMED SESSION: THE BEJEWELLED GARDEN  

Mother Nature has long been an everlasting source of incredible inspiration to the artists and jewellery designers alike. Captivated by the exquisite beauty of flora and fauna, myriads of masterpieces have flourished and bloomed throughout the history of mankind. Subtle musings of nature transformed into wondrous declarations of love in the form of butterflies and enlightenment in dragonflies, the inspiration from botanic beauties boundless. From the legendary beasts of Cartier, to the playful aesthetics of modern contemporary designers, creative interpretations are reborn as extraordinary treasures, in a beautiful ode to nature. This season, Sotheby’s invites you to take a stroll through our bejewelled garden, specially curated to delight the senses. 

Lapis Lazuli, Enamel and Emerald Clip Brooch, 'Panthère', Cartier. Est. HK$240,000 – 400,000/US$31,000 – 51,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Diamond, Onyx and Emerald Clip Brooch, 'Panthère', Cartier. Est. HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000/US$260,000 – 380,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Rubellite and Diamond Brooch / Pendant, 'Orchid', Cartier, 2011. Est. HK$5,500,000 – 8,000,000/US$710,000 – 1,000,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Jadeite and Diamond Turtle Clip Brooch. Est. HK$2,800,000 – 3,500,000/US$358,000 – 448,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Lot 749. A famille rose ruby-ground ‘medallion’ bowl, Daoguang six-character seal mark in iron-red and of the period (1821-1850), 4 ¾ in. (12 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 20,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The bowl is finely decorated on the exterior with four roundels, each depicting agricultural pursuits including planting and ploughing, fishing, and carrying produce. The roundels are reserved on a ruby-red enamel ground decorated with stylized flowers on foliate scrolls. The interior is decorated with a central blossom encircled by peaches, further flowers and interlocked ruyi, and there is a band of flowers on a continuous leafy stem below the interior rim. 

Provenance: Bluett & Son, London, 1959.
Wing Commander Whitaker Collection.

Note: The present bowl is shallower than many Daoguang ‘medallion’ bowls, and instead its shape more closely follows the coveted shallow enameled Imperial bowls from the Kangxi period with pink or blue-enameled yuzhi marks. A group of four of these Kangxi bowls is illustrated by M. Beurdeley and G. Raindre, Qing Porcelain: Famille Verte, Famille Rose, London, 1987, pp. 132-33, no. 189.

Lot 750. A very rare famille rose‘magpie’ bowl, Daoguang six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1821-1850), 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 35,000 - USD 50,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

 The bowl is decorated on the exterior with ten black and white magpies perched in pairs on branches beside flowering tree peony, with a further magpie on the ground and a twelfth magpie in flight. 

Provenance: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 15 May 1990, lot 251.
S. Marchant & Son, London, 1991. 
Private collection, Europe.

Literature: S. Marchant & Son, Exhibition of Nineteenth Century Mark and Period Porcelain, 1991, p. 51, no. 50.

Note: The distinctive black and white magpie is an auspicious bird, whose name in Chinese, xique, is a pun for happiness, xi. Magpies were also regarded as birds of prophecy, foretelling the arrival of guests. The birds are frequently depicted among prunus blossoms, but the present decoration with wutong branches is very unusual. Since the wutong tree signifies ‘together’, tong, the combination of magpies and wutong can be seen as a wedding motif representing ‘happiness together’. 

The delicacy of the enameling style and colors on the present bowl can be related to Yongzheng and Qianlong famille rose wares. Compare, for example, a Yongzheng-marked bowl decorated with a related design of magpies with prunus from the Chinese National Collection illustrated by S. Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. LI, no. 2, and a Qianlong-marked bowl in the Percival David Collection of Chinese Art, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World’s Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, no. 273. 

Twelve Magpies bowl, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735), Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Bowl with magpies, Qing dynasty or Republican period, about AD 1800–1949. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue Qianlong mark and fencai enamels, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF.888 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Lot 751. A pair of underglaze-blue and yellow-glazed 'dragon' bowls, Daoguang six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1821-1850), 4 1/8 in. (10.3 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Each bowl is decorated on the exterior with two five-clawed dragons striding amidst flames in pursuit of flaming pearls above a band of overlapping lotus petals rising from the foot, all highlighted in yellow glaze against the deep cobalt-bue ground. Each interior is similarly decorated with a further dragon in a central medallion. 

Christie's. Marchant: Nine Decades in Chinese Art, 14 September 2017, New York

Lot 16. A finely enameled doucai'medallion' conical bowl, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735). Diameter 8 3/4  in., 22.6 cm.  Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

well potted, the flared sides rising from a short straight foot to a slightly everted rim, delicately enameled in soft pastel tones with four floral medallions to the exterior, each enclosing lotus, peony, prunus and chrysanthemum divided by stylized foliage scroll, the interior centered with two butterflies within an underglaze blue double-circle, repeated at the rim and foot, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue 

Provenance: English Private Collection, until 2008.
European Private Collection. 

Note; The four flowers blossoming in the enameled medallions—peony, lotus, chrysanthemum, and prunus—represent the four seasons. This trope, also known as the 'Four Gentlemen', emerged during the Song dynasty (960-1279) and continued as a popular decorative motif through the Qing dynasty. The simultaneous efflorescence of plants that normally bloom at different times of the year symbolizes the health of the universal order and the flourishing of all things within it. 

A closely related bowl, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 31; another in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, is published in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1956, pl. 64 (bottom);  a third, in the Meiyingtang collection, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. IV, pt. II, pl. 1747; and an additional example, in the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, University of Durham, is illustrated in Ireneus Laszlo Legeza, A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Malcom Macdonald Collection of Chinese Art, London, 1972, pl. CXXXIX. Further similar examples include a bowl from the collection of Paul and Helen Bernat, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 15th November 1988, lot 10; and another sold in our London rooms, 9th November 2005, lot 301.