Lo 3634. A fine pair of blue and white 'Crane' bowls, Marks and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735);14.8 and 15 cm, 5 3/4  and 5 7/8  in. Estimate 1,800,000 — 2,800,000 HKD. Lot sold 4,000,000 HKD (515,240 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

 each potted with rounded sides resting on a short foot, the interior centred with a medallion enclosing a gnarled branch of peaches, the exterior delicately decorated with pencilled details of eight cranes, each bird depicted flying in a different posture, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double circle.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 1970s.

Exhibited: Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 116.
Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1982, cat. no. 116.

Note: This charming pair of bowls exemplifies the Yongzheng Emperor’s infatuation with portents of good fortune and his insistence of outstanding quality. The design is particularly notable for its large areas of undecorated pristine ground, which provide a striking visual contrast to the finely painted motif. The cranes are rendered in a naturalistic manner, their movements and plumage expertly painted with varying shades of cobalt blue. 

Bowls of this motif are unusual although two other pairs are known: the first, included in the Kau Chi Society exhibition Ancient Chinese Ceramics, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 116, and sold in our London rooms, 11th July 1978, lot 214, and again in these rooms, 1st November 1994, lot 138, and the second, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 25th October 1993, lot 775. A related motif of cranes is also known from the outsides of dishes of Yongzheng mark and period, which on the interior are similarly painted with a flowering peach tree; see for example a dish, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in the Museum’s exhibition Good Fortune, Long Life, Health and Peace: A Special Exhibition of Porcelains with Auspicious Designs, Taipei, 1995, cat. no. 66; another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns], Beijing, 2005, vol. I, pt. II, pl. 49; and another sold in these rooms, 12th/13th May 1976, lot 145. 

Compare also a cup of Yongzheng mark and period similarly painted with eight cranes, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 19th March 1991, lot 561; a pair of bowls with a similar crane design painted in the doucai palette, in the Chang Foundation, Taipei, illustrated in James Spencer, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pl. 134; and a further doucai cup sold in these rooms, 28th April 1992, lot 220. 

This motif is highly auspicious. Cranes are symbolic of immortality, and therefore eight cranes reference the Eight Immortals. The flowering peach tree further strengthens this association, and their appearance together expresses the pun heshou yannian, which can be translated as ‘May the crane and peaches extend your years’.  

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 03 Apr 2019. 

Lot 3630. A large blue and white 'lotus' vase, hu, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 45.5 cm, 17 7/8  in. Estimate 3,000,000 — 5,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 3,750,000 HKD (515,240 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

robustly potted with a pear-shaped body rising from a short spreading foot to a short waisted flaring neck flanked by a pair of archaistic scroll handles, painted around the exterior in rich cobalt-blue tones with a broad scrolling lotus band, all between ruyi, lotus lappet and classic scroll bands, the neck adorned with a band of shou medallions on a wan diapered ground, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark.

Provenance: Christie's London, 16th December 1981, lot 35.

Note: Stately in its form and design, this vase is impressive for its large size which has been flawlessly potted and covered in finely executed motifs. It represents the Qianlong style in its amalgamation of influences which draw from Ming ceramic patterns that have been adapted to contemporary taste, as well as textiles and archaic bronzes. The decoration is also notable for the brilliance of the blue cobalt, which reflects the high standard of resources available to the potters who excelled in both technical and creative capabilities. 

Lot 3635. A fine blue and white 'Bajixiang' pouring vessel and cover, he, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 21 cm, 8 1/4  in. Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 2,500,000 HKD (322,025 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

modelled in the form of the archaic bronze he prototype, with a compressed globular body supported on four legs and surmounted by a constricted neck and lipped rim, flanked by a handle and a spout, the exterior of the body richly painted in cobalt-blue tones with a row of beribboned bajixiang emblems, each resting atop a lotus bloom wreathed in scrolling foliage, all below a key-fret band, the neck, handle, spout and legs superbly adorned with echoing lingzhi blooms, the cover centred with an arched knop and similarly rendered in dense lingzhi scrolls encircled by a key-fret band, the underside of the vessel with a six-character seal mark.

Exhibited: Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 118.
Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1982, cat. no. 118.

Note: This rare piece belongs to a special group of porcelain wares made under the direction of the Qianlong Emperor that combined contemporary elements with forms inspired by archaic bronzes. Its form is modelled after archaic bronze ritual vessels, he, made during the Zhou dynasty, while the motif of lotus and the Eight Treasures (bajixiang) hints at the increasing influence of Buddhism at court. The exceptional talent of the potters is evident not only in the successful transformation of a bronze form into porcelain, but also in their ability to combine decorative elements from different traditions.

Originally inspired by pottery prototypes from the Neolithic period, bronze vessels of this form are believed to have been originally used as wine ewers or pitchers in the Shang and Zhou dynasty. Their function was somewhat revived in the Qing dynasty, as attested by Wang Guowei (1877-1927) in his ‘shuo he’ (On the he) from 1915, where he mentions that at banquets, those that could not tolerate drinking too much wine were offered a weaker version diluted with water poured from a he. Porcelain he appear to have been an 18th century innovation, and according to Palace documents, the first order for these vessels took place in the 3rd year of the Qianlong reign.

Ewers of this unusual form are found in important private and museum collections; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Museum’s exhibition K’ang-Hsi, Yung-Cheng and Ch’ien-Lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 71; another in the Tianjin Municipal Museum is illustrated in Tianjin Shi Yishu Bowuguan cang ci [Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum], Tianjin, 1993, pl. 166; and a third in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen is illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art, London, 2016, vol. 1, pl. 424, together with a Jiaqing mark and period example, pl. 425. See also one from the collections of Eva Lande and Julius Morgenroth, sold in our New York rooms, 17th March 2009, lot 122; and a slightly smaller example also lacking the cover included in the exhibition Treasures of Imperial Porcelain. Official Kiln Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty Collected by Hangzhou Tu Huo Zhai Museum of Antique Ceramics, Hangzhou, 2011, pl. 100.

From the collections of Eva Lande and Julius Morgenroth. A Blue And White Ewer And Cover (He), Qianlong Seal Mark And Period(1736-1795); height 8 3/4 in.; 22.2 cm. Sold for 25,000 USD at Sotheby's New York, 17th March 2009, lot 122. Courtesy Sotheby's

Lot 3636. A fine blue and white 'Fish' bowl, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 18.2 cm, 7 1/8  in. Estimate 1,000,000 — 1,500,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,250,000 HKD (161,013 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of conical form, the steeply flaring sides supported on a splayed foot, painted to the interior with a central medallion enclosing three detached sprays of swaying waterweeds, encircled by four fish swimming in various poses, the exterior with tumultuous waves cresting and splashing with foams, below double lines encircling the brown-dressed rim, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark. 

Lot 3640. A fine and rare blue and white 'Trigrams' bowl, Mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 14 cm, 5 1/2  in. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 812,500 HKD (161,013 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

well potted with deep rounded sides resting on a slightly tapered foot, the exterior decorated with cranes in flight alternating with the Eight Trigrams, each Trigram rendered within a medallion, all above a band of tempestuous waves crashing against rockwork, the interior centred with a medallion enclosing a florette resting on waves, encircled by a florette diaper band around the rim, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark. 

Lot 3043. Peter Binoit (Cologne 1590/91 – 1632 Hanau), Still life of flowers, with tulip, snowdrops, chequered lily, in a slipware vase on a stone plinth with insects. Oil on copper.Monogrammed lower left: P B. 20.5 x 15.8 cm. Estimate CHF 80 000 / 120 000 (€ 70 180 / 105 260). Sold for CHF 96 500. Courtesy Koller Zurich 

Expertise: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bott, 29.9.2017.

Provenance: European private collection.

Koller Zurich. Old Master, 29 March 2019.

Lot 3056. David Cornelisz. de Heem (Antwerp 1663 – circa 1701 The Hague), Still life with herring, fruits and roses. Oil on canvas. 55 x 46 cm. Estimate CHF 15 000 / 20 000 (€ 13 160 / 17 540). Sold for CHF 47 300. Courtesy Koller Zurich 

Expertise: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bott, 29.9.2017.

Provenance: - Private collection Washington D.C. (as C. de Heem).
- Jean Moust, Art Trade, Bruges. 
- Swiss private collection.

Exhibited: From Botany to Bouquets: Flowers in Northern Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Jan - Feb 1999, No. 15, p. 64, 65, 66 and 84, as C. de Heem.

This painting is archived at the RKD, The Hague, as by the hand of David Cornelisz. de Heem under number 69429.

Koller Zurich. Old Master, 29 March 2019.

Lot 3045. Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger (Middelburg 1609 – 1645 Utrecht), Flowers in a blue and white porcelain vase with lizard, grapes and cherries. Circa 1630 – 35. Oil on panel. Signed and dated lower right: A.Bosschaert 163(...). 39.3 x 25.2 cm. Estimate CHF 20 000 / 30 000 (€ 17 540 / 26 320). Sold for CHF 36 500. Courtesy Koller Zurich

Provenance: European private collection. 

Our thanks to Dr. Fred G. Meijer who has confirmed the authenticity of this painting on the basis of a photograph and dates it to the early 1630s.

Lot 3072. Jean Michel Picart (Antwerp circa 1600 – 1682 Paris), Still life of flowers in a blue vas on a stone plinth. Oil on canvas. Barely legible signature lower right: H an Spaendonck f. 77 x 57.5 cm. Estimate CHF 12 000 / 18 000 (€ 10 530 / 15 790). Lot sold CHF 24 500. Courtesy Koller Zurich.

Provenance: Swiss private collection.

Dr. Fred G. Meijer has identified this still life as by the hand of the Antwerp painter Jean-Michel Picart, produced circa 1650.

Lot 3053. Nicolaes van Veerendael (1640 Antwerp 1691), Still life of flowers. Oil on canvas. Part of a signature centre left: ...ndael. 53 x 41 cm. Estimate CHF 10 000 / 15 000 (€ 8 770 / 13 160). Lot sold CHF 23 300. Courtesy Koller Zurich.

Provenance: - Christie's, Paris, 14.9.2016, Lot 22.
- European private collection.

The painting is registered at RKD, The Hague as by the hand of Nicolaes van Verendael (No. 292359).

Lot 3076. Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (Lille 1636 – 1699 London), Still life of flowers, with tulips, anemones and hyacinths in a stone vase with lions. Oil on canvas. 74.5 x 59.5 cm. Estimate CHF 5 000 / 7 000 (€ 4 390 / 6 140). Lot sold CHF 16 100. Courtesy Koller Zurich. 

Provenance: - Galerie Commeter, Hamburg (label verso).
- Swiss private collection.

 Lot 3040. Johannes Baers (before 1600 Utrecht after 1641), Still life of flowers with tulips and bee. Oil on panel. Monogrammed lower right: JB. 36.5 x 26.5 cm. Estimate CHF 10 000 / 15 000 (€ 8 770 / 13 160). Lot sold CHF 13 700. Courtesy Koller Zurich.

Expertise: Dr. Walther Bernt, 13.8.1958, as Johannes Bosschaert (copy available). 

Provenance: Swiss private collection, since the 1950s.

Lot 3655. A rare 'clair-de-lune' glazed 'hundred rib' jar, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 26.6 cm, 10 1/2  in. Estimate 2,800,000 — 3,200,000 HKD. Lot sold 3,250,000 HKD (418,633 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

with a baluster body sweeping up to a broad rounded shoulder and a raised rim, all supported on a flat base, the exterior divided into one hundred narrow ribs, covered evenly overall save for the base with an unctuous pale milky-blue glaze pooling to a darker tone in the grooves, the unglazed base showcasing the fine body. 

The form of these jars derives from Longquan celadon wares of the 14th century, which were made with covers in the form of a lotus leaf, such as one from the collection of the Ottoman sultans and now in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, included in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. I, pl. 213; and another, in the Tokyo National Museum, published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum. Chinese Ceramics II, Tokyo, 1990, cat. no. 14. 

Jars of this type may in the later Qing period have been described as having a Ru glaze, the ribs referred to as ‘hundred folds’ (baizhe). According to the inventory of the Qing imperial court archives, dated to the twelfth month of the eleventh year of the Guangxu period (in accordance with 1885), Ru you ci baizhe xiao yugang yi kou or ‘a small Ru-glazed hundred-fold fish jar’ was stored in the porcelain quarter of Fangyuanju (Residence of the aromatic garden) in the Imperial Summer Palace at Chengde.

Lot 3601. A fine and very rare wucai'Orchid' month cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 6.4 cm, 2 1/2  in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,200,000 HKD. Lot sold 2,500,000 HKD (322,025 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

delicately potted of deep 'U'-shape with a flared rim and a short straight foot, painted on one side in the wucai palette in underglaze blue and overglaze enamels with a bed of densely growing yellowish-green orchids with a cluster of rocks in front and some bare prickly branches between, the leaves well shaded in different tones of green, representing the seventh month, the reverse inscribed with a poem relating to the flowers in front, followed by the seal shang ('to appreciate'), the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double circle. 

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4th November 1997, lot 1434.

Note: The poem on the present cup can be translated as follows: 

The delicate fragrance pervades the spacious hall.
       Like music from lofty terraces far away.

Month cups depicting seasonal flowers accompanied by pertinent two-line poems, represent a classic design of the Kangxi period. Very delicately potted, they are painted in the proper wucai palette of underglaze blue and overglaze enamels, which was devised in the Ming dynasty, but rarely used in the Qing, when the underglaze colour was generally omitted. On these month cups the designs are generally sketched on the unglazed porcelain in a faint underglaze blue.

Slight differences in size, colours, writing styles and marks between individual cups and different months suggest that even these cups may not have been produced as sets of twelve, but perhaps issued consecutively, as the year evolved, to be assembled at the end. 

Complete sets of month cups are extremely rare. A full set of month cups in the Palace Museum, Bejing, is illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 65, pl. 48; another set from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Qing Enamelled Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, rev. ed., London, 1991, pl. 815; another in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, is included in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 221; a further set from the Meiyintang Collection, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, nos 1728-39; and a set of blue and white cups was recently sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th November 2018, lot 2908.

Lot 3602. A fine and very rare wucai'Narcissus' month cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 6.6 cm, 2 5/8  in. Estimate 600,000 — 800,000 HKD. Lot sold 2,250,000 HKD (289,823 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

delicately potted of deep 'U'-shape with flared rim and a short straight foot, painted on one side in the wucai palette in underglaze blue and overglaze enamels with two clumps of narcissus, the larger one with a blue rock behind and a single red rose emerging from its midst, representing the twelfth month, the reverse inscribed with a poem relating to the flowers in front, followed by the seal shang ('to appreciate'), the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double circle. 

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 1996, lot 753 (one of a pair).

Note: The poem on the present cup can be translated as follows: 

Lot 3604. A fine and very rare wucai'Rose' month cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 6.5 cm, 2 1/2  in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,062,500 HKD (136,861 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

delicately potted of deep 'U'-shape rising from a short straight foot to a flared rim, painted on one side in the wucai palette in underglaze blue and overglaze enamels with a red rose growing on moss-covered ground, one long stem overhanging some low-growing blue berries, and one prickly stem growing straight upright, with a yellow and a green butterfly on either side, representing the tenth month, the reverse inscribed with a poem relating to the flowers in front, followed by the seal shang ('to appreciate'), the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double circle. 

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 1996, lot 753 (one of a pair).

Note: The poem on the present cup can be translated as follows: 

Lot 3605. A rare wucai 'Prunus' month cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 6.5 cm, 2 1/2  in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 875,000 HKD (112,709 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

finely potted with deep rounded sides supported on a short straight foot and rising to a flared rim, one side rendered in the wucai palette, a prunus tree's two gnarled branches bearing white blossoms with yellow stamens and dark red calyxes, with some small shoots rising from the ground, a tall rock behind, a clump of narcissus and another low rock to one side, and a younger flowering tree on the other, representing the eleventh month, the reverse inscribed with a poem relating to the flowering tree in front, followed by the seal shang ('to appreciate'), the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double circle. 

Note: The poem on the present cup can be translated as follows: 

Lot 3605. A fine wucai 'Wintersweet' month cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 6.7 cm, 2 5/8  in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 625,000 HKD (80,506 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the delicately potted U-shaped body rising from a short foot to a flared rim, the exterior brightly painted with two wintersweet trees and lingzhi blooms, representing the first month, the reverse with a poetic inscription, followed by a seal reading shang ('to appreciate'), the base with a six-character mark within a double circle in underglaze blue. 

Note: The poem on the present cup can be translated as follows: 

Lot 3606. A wucai'Pomegranate' month cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 6.6 cm, 2 1/2 in. Estimate 300,000 — 500,000 HKD. Lot sold 437,500 HKD (56,354 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

with a delicately potted U-shaped body rising from a short foot to a flared rim, the exterior brightly painted with a gnarled pomegranate tree, representing the fifth month, the reverse with a poetic inscription relating to the depicted flowers, followed by a seal reading shang ('to appreciate'), the base with an underglaze-blue six-character reign mark within a double circle. 

Note: The poem on the present cup can be translated as follows: 

Lot 3621. An exceptional, large and rare white jade archaistic cylindrical ewer, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 18.7 cm, 7 3/8  in. Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,500,000 HKD. Lot Sold 3,750,000 HKD (483,038   USD). Courtesy Sotheby's

the substantial boulder well hollowed into a thick-walled cylindrical vessel resting on four ruyi-shaped feet, rising to a gently everted rim, the straight sides set with a handle carved in openwork with a clambering chilong, its sinuous body lancing between two squared scrolls, with the head perched atop the rim, clutching in its mouth a spray of flowering lotus, opposite a swooping phoenix just under the flared spout on the other side of the rim, the mythical bird skilfully worked with its wings wide stretched and finely detailed with exuberant feathers, its head bent downwards towards a loop suspending a loose ring, the exterior encircled by a band of stylised archaistic taotie masks between horizontal fillets, the stone of an even pale celadon tone with occasional russet flecks.

Provenance: Collection of Sir Henry Price (1877-1963), Wakehurst Place, England.
Sotheby's London, 22nd November 2000, lot 354.

Note: This ewer is remarkable for the fine level of craftsmanship evident in the exquisitely carved details of the vessel, ranging from the low-relief archaistic decoration on the body to the ornately modelled ‘dragon’ handle and ringed ‘phoenix’ spout. The interior and exterior are both polished to the same level of perfection. The form of this ewer is loosely modelled after archaic bronze zun vessels from the Han dynasty. However the compressed form of the original has been elongated in a more elegant manner, the mouth tapering to the spout in the form of a heart or ruyi head, all supported on superbly articulated ruyi feet. The form could also be seen as a fusion of two traditions, that of archaic bronzes and horn-shaped vessels.