Lot 2269. A pair of doucai'floral medallion' bowls, Yongzheng six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1723-1735); 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm.) diam. Estimate 400,000 - HKD 600,000 USD. Lot sold 2,670,000USD. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013 

The finely potted bowls with gently rounded sides are delicately painted with underglaze blue outlines and overglaze enamels on the exterior with five medallions containing multi-coloured scrolling chrysanthemums, surrounded by tricorn scrolling floral motifs, Japanese wood box. 

Property of the Yiqingge Collection.  

Note: A small number of bowls with this pattern are known, such as the pair in the Tianminlou Collection bearing a Yongzheng mark within double squares, illustrated in Chinese Porcelain, The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, no. 100; a pair, also with the marks within double squares, exhibited in Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1992, Catalogue, no. 173; and a pair from the Edward T. Chow Collection, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25 November 1980, lot 132.

Christie's. IMPERIAL SALE: IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART. 29 May 2013. Convention Hall. 

Lot 2126. A very rare gilt-decorated 'imitation bronze' reticulated censer, Qianlong gilt six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795); 7 1/2 in. (19 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 2,000,000 - HKD 3,000,000. Price realised HKD 2,430,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013 

Lot 2260. A fine and rare clair-de-lune brush washer, tangluoxi, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 2,000,000 - HKD 3,000,000. Price realised HKD 2,430,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013 

Nasr Eddin se rend dans le bois avec son âne pour faire du fagot. Il place la charge sur le dos de l’animal mais elle est si lourde que le pauvre n’arrive pas à suivre son maître.
Un paysan, voyant la scène de son champ, lui dit :

Nasr Eddin prend le piment rouge et il fait comme l’homme le lui a conseillé. Aussitôt, l’âne, le derrière en feu, démarre au grand galop, et Nasr Eddin se met à courir derrière lui pour le rattraper. Mais rien à faire, l’âne est emballé.
Alors Nasr Eddin ne fait ni une ni deux, il lève son djubbé et se frotte les fesses avec le piment. L’effet est immédiat, tellement puissant que notre homme dépasse bientôt l’âne et qu’il entre le premier dans la cour de sa maison, où il commence à tourner sans plus pouvoir s’arrêter.
Sa femme apparaît bien vite sur le pas de la porte pour observer ce prodige. Nasr Eddin lui crie, hors d’haleine :

Lot 110. An exceptionally rare and important blue and white ewer, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435); Height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate $600,000 — 800,000. Sold to an private Asian collector for $3,135,000. © Sotheby's 2018

NEW YORK, NY.- Asia Week New York continued at Sotheby’s today with four auctions of Chinese Works of Art. Beginning with a sale dedicated to the Ming Dynasty and concluding with the Judith & Gerson Leiber Collection of Chinese Art, today’s offerings achieved $18.2 million, well within the total pre-sale estimate. Auctions of Chinese Works of Art continue tomorrow with over 200 lots of Important Chinese Art, with Classical Chinese Paintings and Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art still to come. 

Angela McAteer, Head of Sotheby’s Chinese Works of Art Department in New York, commented: “This season, we were entrusted with a number of significant private collections from Asia and the Americas. Today’s results are a testament to the appetite for works fresh to the market, and the global demand for rare, exceptional and beautiful Chinese art.” 

MING: LUMINOUS DAWN OF EMPIRE 
Sale Total: $9,394,500 
The first of this morning’s auctions, dedicated to the first century of the Ming Dynasty, climbed above its high estimate and totaled $9.4 million. The curated group was led by an Exceptionally Rare and Important Blue and White Ewer, Xuande Mark and Period. Appearing in public for the first time in nearly 600 years, this striking work of art from the Detring / von Hanneken Collection elicited bids from three eager telephones in the auction room. Over the course of four minutes, the work flew above its pre-sale estimate of $600/800,000, before selling to an private Asian collector for $3,135,000. 

Lot 110. An exceptionally rare and important blue and white ewer, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435); Height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate $600,000 — 800,000. Sold to an private Asian collector for $3,135,000. © Sotheby's 2018

cf. my post: An exceptionally rare and important blue and white ewer, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

JINGYATANG: TREASURES OF CHINESE BUDDHIST SCULPTURE 
Sale Total: $3,033,000 
Masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist sculpture from esteemed Asian private collection Jingyatang was highlighted by a Carved Limestone Head of Avalokiteshvara. From the Sui Dynasty, the bodhisattva of compassion founds bids in the room and on the telephone before selling for $843,500, above its pre-sale high estimate.

Lot 204. A Carved Limestone Head of Avalokitesvara, Sui Dynasty (581-618); Height 16 1/4 in., 41.3 cm. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Lot Sold 843,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

Cf. my post: Buddhist treasures from the Jingyatang Collection to be offered at Sotheby's

KANGXI: THE JIE RUI TANG COLLECTION 
Sale Total: $ 4,469,000 
Personally selected by collector Jeffrey P. Stamen, the Jie Rui Tang Collection of Kangxi porcelain offered earlier today achieved a total of $4.5 million. A Large and Important Famille-Verte ‘Investiture of the Gods’ Rouleau Vase from the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period attracted at least eight bidders on the telephone and in the salesroom. After seven minutes of bidding, the exemplary wucai-decorated vase, measuring 29 3/4 inches in height, sold for $1,575,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $400/600,000. 

Lot 322. A large and important famille-verte 'Investiture of the gods' rouleau vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 29 1/4 in., 74.2 cm. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Lot sold 1,575,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

Cf. my post: A large and important famille-verte 'Investiture of the gods' rouleau vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

INSPIRED: THE GERSON AND JUDITH LEIBER COLLECTION OF CHINESE ART 
Sale Total: $1,305,563 
Curated over the course of seven decades, the Gerson and Judith Leiber Collection encapsulated the aesthetic vision of this artistic couple. The top lot of the auction was a Rare Blue and White ‘Luduan’ Censer and Cover from the Ming Dynasty, Wanli Period. A direct reference for one of Mrs. Leiber’s jewel-encrusted minaudières, the playful and majestic mythical creature soared past its pre-sale estimate of $60/80,000 before fetching $325,000.

Lot 451. A rare blue and white 'luduan' censer and cover, Ming dynasty, Wanli period (1573-1620). Height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 325,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

stoutly potted, the mythical creature modeled four-square, the body painted in inky tones of cobalt blue with a foliate meander interspersed with trailing flame wisps, the neck applied with a collar suspending a bell and tassels, a curled upswept tail at the rear, the cover in the form of the raised head with bulging eyes, mouth agape baring teeth, spiraling and straight tufts of hair, bearing a fierce demeanor, all supported on four scaly legs terminating in clawed feet (2) 

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Note: This robustly potted and boldly decorated vessel belongs to a select group of wares modeled in the form of luduan that were produced during the Wanli period (r. 1573-1620). Both the playfulness and majesty of luduan, a legendary animal in Chinese mythology, are meticulously captured through the animated expression and bulging eyes. Luduan, an auspicious creature with the ability to traverse vast distances in a day and to master all languages, was said to appear only in areas where a virtuous leader was present. Censers modeled in the form of a luduan are known to have been produced in bronze as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC- 220 AD), such as one from the Bondy Collection, included in the Berlin Exhibition of Chinese Art, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 45. These bronze prototypes provided inspiration for numerous ceramic and porcelain interpretations, including the present.

Porcelain featuring such intricate modeling is prone to distortion during the firing process, and as a result few censers of this large size and form are known; a closely related example also decorated with a leafy scroll over the body, was sold in our London rooms, 10th May 1994, lot 2; and another painted with a floral scroll was included in the exhibition Chinesisches Porzellan der Mingdynastie. 14. Bis 17 Jahrhundert, Zwinger Museum, Dresden, 1987, cat. no 3767. These larger censers are particularly notable for their extensive detailed designs that emphasize the auspiciousness and other-worldliness of the creature. 

Lot 454. A yellow-ground 'lotus' double-gourd vase, Jiajing mark and period (1522–1566). Height 9 in., 23 cm.  Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Lot sold 32,500 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

the compressed globular lower body rising through a waisted center to the pear-form tapering upper bulb, painted with bold iron-red lotus blossoming on a scrolling underglaze blue leafing stems, the waist with auspicious emblems and stylized clouds, all between double line borders and on a bright semi-translucent yellow enameled ground, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle.

From the Gerson and Judith Leiber Collection. 

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th May 1987, lot 425.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York. 

Lot 450. A large sancai-glazed figure of a lion, Ming dynasty. Width 26 in., 66 cm. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 USD. Lot sold 27,500 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

the beast modeled crouching low on all fours with its head turned back over the right haunch, the jaws open in a growl, the body covered in a green glaze with a deep brown stripe down the spine, the tufts of fur amber-glazed, the claws and teeth glazed white, raised on a low conforming base with an oval opening to the underside for firing 

From the Gerson and Judith Leiber Collection. 

Lot 449. Two painted stucco 'apsara' figures, Ming dynasty. Heights 10 1/2  in., 26.7 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 25,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

each depicted in a fluid aerial position with their extended limbs trailing the flowing garments, with carefully coiffed and secured hair, painted in polychrome pigments, modern stands (4). 

From the Gerson and Judith Leiber Collection. 

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.
Collection of Mrs. Anna Isley Kneeland (1869-1955), acquired between 1920 and 1940.
Sotheby's New York, 1st June 1994, lot 394.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Exhibited: Tenth Loan Exhibition of Chinese Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1929.

Lot 408. A white-glazed stem bowl, Ming dynasty, 16th century. Height 4 3/4  in., 12.1 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 25,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

thinly potted, the steep rounded sides rising from a hollow spreading foot to a flared lipped rim, applied with an even white glaze save the foot ring, wood stand (2). 

From the Gerson and Judith Leiber Collection. 

Provenance: Mathias Komor, New York.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Note: Compare a similar example from the Carl Kempe collection, published in Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 683, and sold in our London rooms 5th November 2008, lot 579.

Lot 2160. A rare and finely carved rhinoceros horn 'Hundred boys' stem cup, Late Ming-early Qing dynasty, 17th century; 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 1,800,000 - HKD 2,200,000. Price realised HKD 2,060,000. ©Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The stem cup has deep rounded sides rising to a flared rim, supported on a stem foot spreading towards the base. It is carved all over with boys at play, some with instruments, fans; others playing ball games; one climbing up a tree and another bathing, all in a courtyard scene on a diaper-ground above a band of lotus scrolls. The mouth and foot rims are encircled with a narrow keyfret border. The horn is of an amber tone darkening towards the base.

Note: This is a particularly charming stem cup on which young boys are shown engaging in a wide variety of games. The theme of 'hundred boys', or baizi tu, is found on many of the Chinese decorative arts, reflecting the preoccupation with the acquisition of male offspring, and symbolising the wish 'may you have many sons'. In many occasions the children are shown at play, while some of them are also depicted engaging in scholarly pursuits, suggesting that one day they would become successful officials, as on the current stem cup. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 28 November 2012, Hong Kong

Lot 2162. An unusual undecorated rhinoceros horn libation cup, naihebei, Ming dynasty, early 17th century; 5 1/4 in. (13.2 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,500,000. Price realised HKD 1,220,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The exterior is exquisitely contoured in the form of the rhinoceros horn and left undecorated to display the outstanding natural beauty of the material, carved in relief to one side with a Wanli four-character reign mark in regular script above the owner's mark Ruichang Wangfu Bao, 'Treasure from the residence of Lord Ruichang' in seal script. The fibrous texture ranges in colour from a warm golden honey tone around the base rising to a blackish-brown at the tip, box.

Provenance: Acquired from a European Collection, 1978.

Literature: T. Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 98, no. 50
Art and Collection, 2001, issue 105, Yi liang xijiao san liang jin, p. 103.

Exhibited: Hong Kong Museum of Art, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth: Gems of Antiquities Collections in Hong Kong, 2002-2005, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 105.

Note: It was more usual for rhinoceros horn cups to have been carved with designs rather than to have been left plain with the original shape of the horn retained, as with the present cup. For several other cups of this latter type see T. Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, nos. 50, 60, and 64 (unhollowed). This type of cup derives its name naihebei, 'helpless cup', from the fact it is unable to stand on its base and therefore must be placed upside down. If a guest was offered wine in such a cup, they had to finish the wine before they could put the cup down. 

Another plain cup in the British Museum of Art acquired from the collection of Sir Hans Sloane in 1753 is illustrated by S. Jenyns, "The Chinese Rhinoceros and Chinese Carvings in Rhinoceros Horn", TOCS, vol. 29, 1954-1955, pl. 24A, fig. 1. See, also, the plain 'full-tip' cup in the Chester Beatty Library, illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 70. no. 37. Compare also to a plain cup from the Songzhutang collection sold at Christie's Hong Kong, Important Chinese Rhinoceros Horn Carvings from the Songzhutang Collection, 27 May 2008, lot 1729. 

Rhinoceros horn cup, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Bequeathed by Sir Hans Sloan, SLMisc.172. © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

An unusual underorated rhinoceros horn libation cup, naihebei , Ming dynasty, 17th century. Weight: 6.8 oz. (195 gm). Sold for HK$787,500 ($101,354) at Christie's Hong Kong, Important Chinese Rhinoceros Horn Carvings from the Songzhutang Collection, 27 May 2008, lot 1729. © Christie's Images Ltd 2008

Cf; my post: An unusual undecorated rhinoceros horn libation cup, naihebei , Ming dynasty, 17th century

 The appreciation of rhinoceros horns of this type continued into the Qing dynasty as depicted on a painting sold at Sotheby's New York, which portrays a garden landscape scene detailed with a group of revellers seated around a low table enjoying a drinking game. As illustrated in the painting an undecorated rhinoceros horn is placed next to one of the ladies.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 28 November 2012, Hong Kong

Lot 2165. A carved rhinoceros horn 'Eight immortals and Shoulao' libation cup, Ming dynasty, early 17th century; 5 15/16 in. (15 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 1,340,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

In the form of a lotus petal, the deep cup is carved in high relief with Shoulao riding a crane, descending to meet the Eight Immortals, each bearing an attribute and standing on continuous scrolling wave-like clouds continuing around the base to form an openwork foot ring. The plain well-polished interior rises up to a neatly finished rim. The material is of a rich dark walnut tone.

Provenance: Acquired in New York, 1999.

Note: A large rhinoceros horn libation cup with the same theme of the Eight Daoist Immortals in the peach garden of the Land of the Immortals, from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, is illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, figs. 270-272 where the author discusses the theme and significance of the Eight Immortals; a smaller cup, also carved with the immortals around the vessel, is in the Osaka Municipal Museum, and illustrated ibid., fig. 266. 

.Lot 2166. A small rhinoceros horn lotus leaf-form cup, Late Ming-early Qing dynasty, 17th century; 3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) long. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 375,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The small cup is in the form of a lotus leaf with deep lobed sides rising to an irregular-shaped rim. The exterior is carved with Y-shaped veins dividing the lobes, and a chilong with long bifurcated tail in high relief coiling around the long stem. The material is of a light caramel colour darkening at the core.

Provenance: Acquired in New York, circa 1990.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 28 November 2012, Hong Kong

Lot 2171. A rare and finely carved 'Nine dragons' rhinoceros horn libation cup, Ming dynasty, early 17th century; 6 in. (15 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 900,000 - HKD 1,500,000. Price realised HKD 3,140,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Of archaistic form, the flaring sides are raised on a gently spreading foot carved in low relief with a squared double scroll. Both sides are carved to depict immortals in a mountainous landscape retreat amidst prunus, pine and wutong. The handle is formed by a powerful winged dragon with a pair of arched horns carved in openwork. Its head extends over the edge of the rim into the interior, and further entangled by eight chi dragons encircling the rim. The exterior is carved in relief under the spout with a forty-character archaistic inscription, neatly arranged in five vertical lines. The material is of a rich walnut brown tone, wood stand, box.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 2 December 1985, lot 368

Literature: T. Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 54, no. 7 

Exhibited: Hong Kong Museum of Art, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth: Gems of Antiquities Collections in Hong Kong, 2002-2005  

Note: It is unusual to find archaistic inscriptions rendered in this form on rhinoceros horn libation cups. The format of the text, arranged into five vertical lines, is evidently a Ming period interpretation of early characters that have been found inscribed on surfaces of bronzes dated to Shang and Zhou dynasties.

The inscription is a short poem complementing the design of the vessel and may be translated as:

Even though it shares the same Tiger* name,
when one looks at it very carefully it is in fact a dragon.
It appears to be fierce,
These creatures are in nature very gentle,
and their horns can be used as wine vessels.
How appreciative it is to hold one of these cups,
it completes ones delight.

*The reference to tiger is derived from the ancient inter-changeable use of the word "chihu" (horned tiger) and "chilong" (horned dragon). 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 28 November 2012, Hong Kong

Lot 2175. A finely carved rhinoceros horn 'Three friends of winter' libation cup, Late Ming dynasty; 6 5/8 in. (17 cm.) long. Estimate HKD 1,000,000 - HKD 1,500,000. Price realised HKD 2,180,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The irregular-shaped horn is finely carved and pierced to the exterior with the 'Three Friends of Winter' motif with gnarled pine tree branches forming the base, and handles in the form of bamboo stalk issuing leaves and branches bearing prunus blossoms. The interior is further carved in high relief with a curious chilong clambering from the rim towards the centre. The material is of a rich reddish-brown tone, stand.

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby's London, 20 February 1968, lot 29
Edward T. Chow Collection
Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 October 2006, lot 915

Exhibited: Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore, 2003-2004  

Note: The Three Friends of Winter, pine, prunus and bamboo, flourish even under adverse conditions and are a common subject in Chinese painting, calligraphy and works of art. Together they are symbolic of longevity, perseverance and the virtues of the scholar-gentleman.

Rhinoceros horns carved with this motif include an inscribed libation cup decorated with a continuous landscape and dated to the 17th century, in the Songzhutang Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, lot 1707. Another example is a libation cup dated to circa 1700, formerly in the Nils Nessim and Dr. Ip Yee Collections, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19 November 1984. See also an example carved with similar motif but of different shape, in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, and illustrated by Jan Chapman in The Art of Rhinoceroes Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pl. 197.

From the Songzhutang Collection. A finely carved rhinoceros horn 'Three friends' libation cup, Ming dynasty, 17th century; 5¾ in. (14.5 cm) across. Weight: 10.7 oz. (305 gm). Sold for HK$1,207,500 ($155,464) at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, lot 1707. © Christie's Images Ltd 2008

Cf. my post: A finely carved rhinoceros horn 'Three friends' libation cup, Ming dynasty, 17th century

Lot 2209. An imperial yellow-ground blue and white dish, Zhengde six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1506-1521); 10 in. (25.4 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 800,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2012

The centre is decorated with a blossoming gardenia branch surrounded by four flowering or fruiting sprays of ribbon-tied lotus, peach, grape and pomegranate, with a band of peony scroll on the exterior below the everted rim, all within double-line borders and painted in gradated washes of cobalt blue reserved against a thin, pale lemon-yellow enamel ground, box.

The Property of a Japanese Private Collector

Provenance: Sold at Christie's New York, 3 June 1993, lot 211.

Note: A dish of the same size and pattern in the collection of Peter and Irene Scheinman, was included in the exhibition, Born of Earth and Fire, Chinese Ceramics from the Scheinman Collection, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1992, Catalogue no. 81. Other examples of slightly smaller size, some with slight variances in the positioning of the ribbon-tied lotus and grape are in the Percival David Foundation, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, pl. 37; the British Museum, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 5, pl. 187; the Koger Collection, illustrated by Ayers in the exhibition Catalogue, no. 72; the Fogg Art Museum, illustrated by Valenstein, Ming Porcelains, China Institute in America, 1970, Catalogue no. 36; one in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, included in Selected Masterpieces of Oriental Ceramics, 1984, Catalogue no. 63; and another included in Ming Porcelains from the Freer Gallery of Art, 1953, Catalogue nos. 31, 32. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 28 November 2012. Hong Kong

Lot 2213. A small wucai wine cup, Wanli six-character mark within a circle and of the period (1573-1619); 2 11/16 in. (6.8 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000. Price realised HKD 560,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2012

The shallow rounded sides are painted with four quatrefoil panels each depicting a seated scholar in a garden setting, interspersed with floral sprigs. The interior is painted with a medallion of leafy floral spray, surrounded by four clusters of grapes around the sides, box.

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30 October 2000, lot 111.

Lot 2288. A very rare early Ming brown-glazed moulded 'Dragon' stem bowl, Ming dynasty, 15th century; 5 in. (12.7 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 300,000. Price realised HKD 225,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2012

The bowl with a flared mouth rim is supported on a columnar splayed foot, the interior with moulded dragon design. It is covered in a thick brown glaze with the exception of the biscuit foot. The interior of the stem foot is covered in a transparent glaze.

Note: Brown-glazed stem bowls from the early Ming period are extremely rare, with most published examples being red-, white-, celadon-glazed or blue and white wares. A close comparison to the current lot is a slightly larger brown-glazed stem bowl excavated from the Yongle stratum at Jingdezhen, illustrated in Jingdezhen chutu Mingdai yuyao ciqi, Beijing, 2009, pl. 34.

Monochrome glazed stem bowls were important ritual objects for the imperial court during the Ming dynasty, it is therefore not uncommon to find dragon designs, symbols for imperial power, on such wares. Compare to a red-glazed stem bowl decorated with moulded dragons and Yongle mark, excavated from the Yongle stratum at Zhushan in Jingdezhen and illustrated in Huangdi de ciqi, Shanghai, 2010, pl. 34. 

Lot 2289. A rare pair of Ming yellow-enamelled cups, Jiajing six-character marks within circles and of the period (1522-1566); 2 5/16 in. (6 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 250,000. Price realised HKD 162,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2012

Each cup is supported on a low foot, with the deep rounded sides rising to a straight rim. The cups are covered in a deep yellow glaze with the exception of the base which bears the mark under a transparent glaze, Japanese wood box (2).

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the early 20th century 

Note: This pair of cups is unusual in the straight rim and relatively small size. A number of other Jiajing yellow-enamelled bowls, with reign marks incised or written in underglaze blue, have been published but they are all larger in size and are of bell-shape with flaring rims. Compare a pair of bowls with a wide everted mouth rim (7.5 cm. diam.) in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 44.

Lot 2211. A Ming blue and white tripod censer, Ming dynasty, 16th century; 10 in. (25.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000. Price realised HKD 125,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2012

The censer of cylindrical form has the body decorated in relief with the eight trigrams below bands of floral and ruyi-shaped lappets separated by a bowstring band. Around the base is a border of floral scrolls interrupted by three lion-mask cabriole legs. The interior and base are unglazed, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, Nara, 1960s 

Note: The decoration of the eight trigrams in relief is comparatively rare on censers of this type, which are more commonly decorated with figures. See one such example sold at Sotheby's London, 10 November 2004, lot 598.