Lot 127. A superb and rare yellow-ground underglaze-blue 'pomegranate' dish, mark and period of Zhengde (1506-1521); 29.2 cm, 11 1/2  in. Estimate 5,000,000 — 7,000,000 HKD (637,000 - 891,800 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

well potted with low rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a flared rim, finely painted to the interior in underglaze-blue with a large flowering pomegranate spray with two open blooms and three attendant buds on a leafy gnarled stem, encircled on the cavetto with detached fruiting branches of peach, persimmon, cherry and lychee, the exterior painted with four formal lotus sprays, all reserved against a rich egg-yolk yellow ground, the white base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double circle.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 13th December 1966, Lot 74.
Spink & Son, London. 

Exhibited: An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat. no. 95.  

Note: In its classic design, the current dish embodies the spirit of continuation in the development of Zhengde-period imperial porcelain from its 15th-century prototypes.

Imperial porcelain dishes created in this decoration first appeared in the Xuande period, and continued to be made in subsequent reigns, most characteristically in the Chenghua and Zhengde periods. Though quintessentially following a canon established by his predecessors, the Zhengde examples were created with minor variations from its 15th-century counterparts. Whilst earlier examples, particularly those of the Xuande period, are sometimes unmarked, marks on the archetypal dishes from the Xuande and Chenghua reigns are usually inscribed horizontally under the rim on the exterior, and the bases of the dishes left unglazed. Other slight modifications are also observed in the Zhengde examples, including the positioning of the four fruiting sprays in correlation to the central spray of flowering pomegranate.

Closely related dishes from the Zhengde reign are amongst worldwide museum and private collections. See one in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, illustrated in John Ayers, Far Eastern ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, pl. 154; another similar dish, painted in somewhat bolder outlines and darker cobalt-blue washes, is published in Minji meihin zuroku [Illustrated catalogue of important Ming porcelains], vol. 2, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 98; a third from the Ataka collection, now in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, was exhibited in the Oriental Ceramics Society exhibition, The Arts of the Ming dynasty, London, 1957, no. 197; and another from the Palmer collection, was sold in our London rooms on 27th November 1962, lot 63. 

Xuande-period examples of the current design rendered in various palettes such as blue and white, iron-brown, and reverse-decorated blue-ground dishes are preserved in the British Museum, London, including one from the Percival David Foundation (PDF A.755), and two illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of late Yuan and Ming ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, nos 4:41 and 4:42. Compare also two similarly decorated Chenghua dishes in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Catalogue of the special exhibition of Cheng-hua porcelain ware, Taipei, 2003, cat. nos 86 and 87.

For a Xuande blue and white dish rendered in this design, please refer to lot 125 in this sale.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 115. A large and rare pair of blue and white 'ram' bowls, marks and period of Jiajing (1522-1566); 16.2 cm, 6 3/8  in. Estimate 5,000,000 — 7,000,000 HKD (637,000 - 891,800 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

each of bell shape, well potted with deep rounded sides supported on a tapered foot, elegantly sweeping up to a wide flared rim, the exterior vividly painted in rich cobalt-blue tones, depicting three rams in a landscape with pine, willow, bamboo and shrubs growing from pierced rocks, all between double-line borders, the interior with a central medallion enclosing a qilin amongst a landscape, below a diaper band around the rim, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle.

Note: Bowls decorated with the 'Three Rams' design are extremely rare, although a comparable example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in the National Palace Museum Quarterly, vol. II, no. 3, 1968, pp. 29-45, pl. XII. See another bowl of this type, from the Baur collection, Geneva, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition The Animal in Chinese Art, London, 1968, cat. no. 259, and also published in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva, vol. II, Geneva, 1969, pl. A154, where Ayers notes that Tao shuo [Description of Ceramics] lists among wares made in this reign circular dishes decorated inside with the three rams, emblematic of the reviving power of the Spring. A third example can be found in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], vol. 12, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 157. The only pair to have appeared at auction is a pair from the collection of J.M. Hu, sold in our New York rooms, 4th June 1985, lot 15, and again in these rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1559, and now in the Alan Chuang collection, illustrated in Julian Thompson. The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, pp. 88-91.

The 'Three Rams' (san yang) design represents a change of fortune with the arrival of Spring and the New Year. The three rams are often shown together with the the rising sun (taiyang) to form the rebus for 'three yang bring prosperity'. Yijing [Book of Changes] first mentions the phrase san yang referring to the three male lines, called tai, that symbolise heaven. The tai is positioned under three female lines called kun that represent earth. Hence the phrase Sanyang kaitai which means the New Year brings renewal and a change of fortune. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 105. A fine and extremely rare blue and white conical 'rose' bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424); 20 cm, 7 7/8  in. Estimate 3,000,000 — 4,000,000 HKD (382,200 - 509,600 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

superbly potted in conical form, the wide flaring sides rising from a straight foot, delicately painted in soft cobalt-blue tones with characteristic 'heaping and piling' effect, depicting flowering and budding roses borne on a leafy meander growing from above the foot, all divided by line borders.

Provenance: Collection of H. Fairtlough, Esq.
Sotheby's London, 28th May 1968, lot 167.
Bluett & Sons, London.
Sotheby's London, 14th March 1972, lot 133.
Hugh Moss Ltd, London

Note: This rare bowl represents the most exquisite type of ware produced in the imperial kilns during the Yongle reign. It is distinctive for its elegant shape and harmonious floral decoration which has been designed for a pure Chinese aesthetic.

Characterised by spiralled petals to the centre of each bloom, the floral scrolls portrayed on the present bowl can be identified as roses as opposed to more customary peonies or lotuses. Roses seldom feature as a decorative pattern in the repertoire of Chinese ceramics, but do appear occasionally on imperial Yongle porcelains including bowls and dishes of various sizes. See a barbed dish decorated with similar scrolling roses to the interior, sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2018, lot 108. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 125. A very rare blue and white 'pomegranate' dish, mark and period of Xuande (1426-1435); 20 cm, 7 7/8  in. Estimate 3,000,000 — 4,000,000 HKD (382,200 - 509,600 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

well potted with low rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a flared rim, boldly painted to the interior in rich cobalt-blue tones with the 'heaped and piled' effect, depicting in the central interior a medallion enclosing a large flowering pomegranate spray with two open blooms and three attendant buds on a gnarled leafy stem, encircled on the cavetto by detached fruiting branches of peach, lychee, crab apple and persimmon, the exterior painted with four formal lotus sprays, all divided by double-line borders, inscribed on one side just under the rim with a horizontal six-character reign mark, covered overall in a translucent glaze save for the base revealing the buff-coloured body with characteristic iron spots.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 11th December 1979, lot 288.

Note: Superbly painted with a dainty floral sprig in the centre, this elegant dish epitomises the exquisite ceramic production at Jingdezhen in the Xuande period. It belongs to a group of dishes painted with different flowering and fruiting branches, which were developed by the Xuande imperial kilns and remained popular almost throughout the Ming dynasty. The present variation is particularly successful in apprehending the beauty of nature. The pattern of pomegranate flowers in various stages of growth – from delicate buds to exuberant bloom with lush petals – and with naturalistic leaves slightly curled at the tips, appears to have enjoyed an immediate success and continued to be painted on imperial dishes up until the Jiajing period, covering a span of over a century. The Xuande version is of course extremely rare, with only five other examples recorded. 

In the early Ming dynasty, the court supervised the production of the Jingdezhen kilns and commissioned imperial wares with decorations which were based on guanyang (official design) or huaben (model drawing) submitted by court artists. The Xuande Emperor, a devoted patron of the arts and himself a talented painter, even raised the total number of official kilns from 32 to 58 in order to fortify such production. Despite its vividness, the instability and fuzziness of the imported cobalt prevalent on the earlier Yongle wares demanded a revised formula of the pigment. With the inclusion of manganese native to China, the cobalt pigment used in the Xuande period enabled greater precision of the brushwork, and in turn conveys a stronger sense of confidence on the part of the painter. The present dish, with bold outlines and painterly washes, successfully captures the grace of the garden plants at their zenith, in a way not dissimilar to Chinese literati paintings. The detached peach, lychee, crab apple and persimmon branches on the cavetto and the lotus sprays on the exterior are sparsely arranged to evoke an overall compositional openness.

Blue and white dishes of this design of Xuande mark and period are extremely rare and there are only four known examples preserved in museums worldwide: One in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 197; one from the Roy Leventritt (1897-1898) collection and now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, exhibited in Ming Blue-and-white: An Exhibition of Blue-decorated Porcelain of the Ming dynasty, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1949-1950, cat. no. 54, and published in Clarence F. Shangraw, ‘Fifteenth Century Blue-and-White Porcelain in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco’, Chinese Ceramics. Selected Articles from Orientations 1982-1998, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 107 bottom; one in the Suzhou Museum, published in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Gongyi meishu bian: Taoci [Complete series on Chinese art. Arts and crafts section: Ceramics], Shanghai, 1988-1991, vol. 3, pl. 77; and the fourth in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, included in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 638, and again in Ceramics that Fascinated Emperors – Treasures of the Chinese Jingdezhen Kiln, Tokyo, 2003, cat. no. 24. The only other example still preserved in private hands was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th April 1997, lot 72.

This Xuande blue and white design with a pomegranate branch in the centre, as well as related ones with gardenia, lotus or day lilies, became blueprints for dishes in various colour combinations, which became particularly popular in the 16th century. Compare the pomegranate pattern on a blue-ground reverse-decorated dish and on a brown-glazed counterpart, both with horizontal Xuande marks below the rim, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, op. cit., cat. nos 198 and 199, as well as four ‘gardenia’ dishes in different colour combinations and with the reign mark on the base, cat. nos 193-196. See also a yellow-ground example of this pomegranate design from the Sir Percival David collection in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Regina Krahl and Jessica Harrison-Hall, Chinese Ceramics. Highlights from the Sir Percival David Collection, London, 2009, pl. 35; and another in the Idemitsu collection and included in the exhibition Ceramics that Fascinated Emperors, op. cit., cat. no. 25.

Revered not only by the Xuande Emperor’s court, these floral designs continued to define the standard of floral dishes in the following reigns with only slight modifications in composition and the placement of the reign mark. For Chenghua blue and white dishes of this pomegranate design, see one preserved in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue & Red, Shanghai Museum, 1987, col. pl. 80; and another in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, exhibited in Matsuoka Bijutsukan shozo Chugoku toji meihin ten [Exhibition of Chinese ceramics in the Matsuoka Museum of Art], Tokyo, 1983, cat. no. 58. Three yellow-ground dishes of this pomegranate design from later reigns are in the Idemitsu collection: a Chenghua example with a horizontal mark below the rim, Ceramics that Fascinated Emperors, op. cit., cat. no. 30; a Zhengde version with the reign mark in a double circle on the base, cat. no. 41; and a Jiajing dish with a horizontal mark below the rim, cat. no. 51. See also a Zhengde yellow-ground dish in this sale, lot 127.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 140. A rare and brilliantly painted blue and white barbed 'floral' charger, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424); 38 cm, 15 in. Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,500,000 HKD (318,500 - 445,900 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

with shallow rounded sides divided into twelve bracket foliations, rising from a short circular tapered foot to a barbed everted rim, exquisitely painted in shades of cobalt blue with 'heaping and piling', the interior with a central peony bloom wreathed by meandering scrolls of camellia, rose, lotus and hibiscus blossoms, the cavetto with detached sprays of peony, chrysanthemum, pomegranate, hibiscus, morning glory and lotus, each repeated twice and paired across the dish, all within a border of scrolling ruyi heads within double lines at the rim, the exterior with similar detached floral sprays within double-line borders.

Provenance: Collection of Mr and Mrs Eugene Bernat.

Exhibited: Later Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of Mr & Mrs Eugene Bernat, Bluett & Sons, London, 1974, pl. III, no. 2.  

Note: The present dish is a fine example of the technical developments achieved by potters during the early Ming dynasty. One of the most striking decorative innovations of early 15th century wares was the use of separate floral sprays in the cavettos instead of the continuous scroll. The heavy wreath of lotus or peony found on 14th century dishes gave way to a series of delicate and more varied motifs. Two sets of six flower sprays were commonly repeated so that each pair of flowers sat diagonally opposite each other. 

A closely related dish in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Special Exhibition of Early Ming Period Porcelain, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, cat. no. 37; one in the National Museum of China is published in Zhongguo Guojia Bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu congshu/Studies on the Collections of the National Museum of China, Ciqi juan: Mingdai [Porcelain section: Ming dynasty], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 20; another in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 3:35; and a fourth example, published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 663, was sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 20. Three further dishes from the Ardebil Shrine in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran, are included in John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pl. 35; and a dish in the British Museum is shown next to a related pottery copy from Iznik in Turkey in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Ornament. The Lotus and the Dragon, London, 1984, pl. 163. See also a dish of this type in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in Pleasingly Pure and Lustrous: Porcelains from the Yongle Reign of the Ming Dynasty. Guidebook, Taipei, 2017, pp. 70-71.

Although examples of this exact design have not been recorded from the excavations of the Ming imperial kiln site, similar large dishes of this form, painted with related designs, have come to light in the Yongle stratum of the site; see, for example, the dish included in the exhibition Yongle Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, Capital Museum, Beijing, 2007, cat. no. 68.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 117. A rare blue and white barbed cupstand, Ming dynasty, Hongwu period (1368-1398); 19.6 cm, 7 5/8  in. Estimate 1,800,000 — 2,500,000 HKD (229,320 - 318,500 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

the shallow rounded sides rising to a barbed everted rim divided into eight bracket foliations, moulded on the interior with a central raised ring and around the exterior with crisp radiating ridges dividing the lobes, finely decorated overall in shaded tones of cobalt accented with 'heaping and piling', the slightly recessed centre medallion with a leafy lotus spray, surrounded by a foliate lingzhi scroll and eight sprigs of lotus around the cavetto, each carefully rendered with different blooms and fanciful curly foliage, the rim detailed with a classic scroll, the central ring picked out with pendent lappets, the exterior painted with petal lappets on each lobe, the recessed and bevelled footring left unglazed.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 28th June 1966, lot 71.
Sotheby's London, 18th May 1971, lot 181.

Note: A very similar cupstand from the collections of Jean-Pierre Dubosc and Mr and Mrs John A. Pope, was included in the exhibition Mostra d’Arte Cinese/Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 611; another from the collection of Dr H.P. Stevens, was sold in our London rooms, 28th June 1966, lot 70; one with a lotus spray in the centre, in the Capital Museum, Beijing, is published in Shoudu Bowuguan cang ci xuan [Selection of porcelains from the Capital Museum], Beijing, 1991, pl. 86; and a fourth example from the Edward T. Chow and Myron S. Falk collections, is published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, pt. I, London, 2010, pl. 1627. 

A cupstand of this type with a lotus scroll replacing the chrysanthemums was excavated from the waste heaps of the Ming imperial kilns at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, and included in the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming chu guanyao ciqi/Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 17.

Compare also a copper-red version of the present dish, from the Meiyintang collection, published in Krahl, op. cit., vol. 2, pl. 644, sold in these rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 44.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 106. A rare large Longquan celadon barbed charger, Early Ming dynasty; 56.5 cm, 22 1/4  in. Estimate 250,000 — 300,000 HKD (31,850 - 38,220 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

robustly potted with lobed shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot to broad everted barbed rim, subtly carved on the interior with a curling lotus spray, encircled by fruiting sprays and lotus florets on the cavetto and flat rim respectively, the exterior decorated with floral sprays, unctuously applied with an attractive olive-green glaze suffused with a network of crackles, save for an unglazed ring on the base left in the biscuit and burnt orange in the firing.

Note: The proceeds of the following lot will be used to endow a scholarship in the name of the late Julian Thompson (1941-2011), the former chairman of Sotheby's Asia, a great personal friend and advisor to Sir Quo-Wei Lee. The scholarship will fund an annual internship at Sotheby's for Hong Kong students of Chinese ceramics, giving them an opportunity to develop their interests and career. 

The present charger is impressive for its large size and the finely rendered design of a curling lotus spray that is delicately enclosed within bands of scrolling flowers. It belongs to a group of high-quality Longquan celadon wares produced in the late 14th to early 15th centuries, characterised by their bold carved designs that are comparable to the blue and white porcelain of the period. During the early Ming dynasty, the Longquan kilns appear to have worked closely with the imperial porcelain kilns at Jingdezhen, thus making wares of similar form, decoration and quality

Another Longquan charger decorated with a flower head surrounded by a lotus meander on the interior and with the bajixiang at the well, is published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, 1986, vol. 1, pl. 245; one sold in these rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1519; another formerly in the Edward T. Chow and T.Y. Chao collections, sold in our London rooms, 16th December 1980, lot 329, and again in these rooms, 19th May 1987, lot 219.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 136. A rare blue and white 'dragon' box and cover, mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566); 21.3 cm, 8 3/8  in. Estimate 70,000 — 90,000 HKD (8,918 - 11,466 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

of circular form, supported on a short splayed foot, the domed cover boldly painted in rich cobalt-blue tones with a central medallion enclosing two five-clawed dragons, their sinuous scaly bodies writhing amidst stylised cloud clusters, all encircled by a wide band of further cloud scrolls, the curved sides of the box decorated with two further dragons striding amid scrolling clouds in pursuit of flaming pearls, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double circle.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 2nd June 1970, lot 60

Note: Sturdily potted, the present covered box is painted with powerful dragons amidst scrolling clouds in vibrant cobalt blue, characteristic of ceramics wares made during the Jiajing period. Blue and white circular boxes painted with dragons are not uncommon in this reign, but those painted with a pair of confronting dragons on the cover, such as the current lot, are surprisingly rare. For the more common type with a single dragon, see an example sold in our London rooms, 10th November 2010, lot 54. See also a square box with confronting dragons striding above jagged rockwork and waves, sold in these rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2938.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM

Lot 132. A fine, rare and superb blue and white jar, mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 25.2 cm, 9 7/8  in. Estimate 4,000,000 — 6,000,000 HKD (509,600 - 764,400 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 103. A massive, rare and impressive blue and white 'floral' vase, Seal mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 70 cm, 27 5/8  in. Estimate 3,000,000 — 5,000,000 HKD (382,200 - 637,000 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 113. An outstanding, fine and rare copper-red moonflask, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 17.5 cm, 6 7/8  in. Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,500,000 HKD (318,500 - 445,900 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

modelled after a Middle Eastern metal prototype, generously potted with a flattened spherical body set with two circular bosses at the sides, rising to a garlic neck flanked by a pair of angular strap handles with ruyi-shaped terminals on the shoulders, all supported on a stepped foot of circular form, the front and back domed faces finely painted in rich copper-red tones with geometric panels, the centre with a lotus bloom borne on radiating leafy tendrils within a star-shaped panel, surrounded by six indented eight-sided panels enclosing geometric floral sprays, all encircled by six hexagonal panels of stylised flowerheads alternating with similar elongated panels of interlaced lozenges, the outer border with shaped panels enclosing stylised floral sprays forming the corners of a large hexagon, interspersed with pairs of narrow panels of flower scrolls, all divided by double line borders, the narrow sides of the flask decorated with detached floral sprays interrupted by flower heads on the raised bosses, the neck collared by a band of stylised floral sprays, below a garlic-form mouth painted with ruyi-shaped lappets enclosing stylised florets, the foot skirted with pendent trefoil spearheads above a band of small scrolls, the glazed concave centre of the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue, wood stand.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 9th July 1974, lot 278.
Bluett & Sons, London.
Eskenazi Ltd, London.

Note: This superbly potted rare Qianlong copper-red vase is a close copy of an equally rare underglaze-blue moonflask from the Yongle period. In its decoration and composition, it closely follows its prototype, although rendered in a smaller size with the shape of the handles and the foot modified. The Yongle prototype adapted its shape and decoration from metal flasks of the Middle East, with their multi-facetted, six-pointed star patterns related to Islamic decorative motifs. Examples of such Yongle blue and white flasks are extremely rare, and only three have appeared at auction, the most recent being one from the Pilkington collection, sold at these rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 17.

From the Pilkington collection. A fine, outstanding and rare blue and white moonflask, bianhu, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424); 24.5 cm, 9 5/8  in. Sold for 110,520,000 HKD (14,248,238 USD) at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 6th April 2016, lot 17. Photo Sotheby's.

Cf. my post: A fine, outstanding and rare blue and white moonflask, bianhu, Ming dynasty, Yongle period

A similar flask from the collection of C.P. Lin was included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1980, cat. no. 118, and again in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art exhibition Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration, London, 1992, cat. no. 171. Another from the Baur collection is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva, Chinese Ceramics, vol. IV, London, 1974, no. A535. Examples at auction include one sold in these rooms, 1st November 1999, lot 370.

Lot 138. A fine and large sacrificial blue-glazed bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 46.5 cm, 18 1/2  in. Estimate 2,000,000 — 3,000,000 HKD (254,800 - 382,200 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

sturdily potted with a pear-shaped body rising from a slightly splayed foot, elegantly sweeping up to a tall cylindrical neck, covered overall in a rich sacrificial blue glaze gradually thinning at the rim and stopping neatly just above the footring, the interior and base glazed white, inscribed to the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 28th November 1978, lot 138.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 17th May 1988, lot 94.

Note: A slightly shorter vase was sold twice in these rooms, 8th November 1982, lot 270, and 8th October 2013, lot 3058. A vase of this type, also bearing a Qianlong seal mark and of the period, from the Walker Art Gallery, now in the Merseyside County Museums, is illustrated in Nigel Wood, Precious Vessels, Liverpool, 1980, pl. 139; and another from the collection of 'Chinese Gordon' (Gordon of Khartoum), is illustrated in W.G. Gulland, Chinese Porcelain, vol. II, London, 1911, pl. 734.

Lot  101. A fine and rare Guan-type vase, hu, Seal mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 19.7 cm, 7 3/4  in. Estimate 1,500,000 — 1,800,000 HKD (191,100 - 229,320 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 108. A rare underglaze-blue and yellow-enamelled 'Lotus bouquet' dish, mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 21.5 cm, 8 1/2  in. Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,000,000 HKD (191,100 - 254,800 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 141. An inscribed underglaze-blue and copper-red brushpot, mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); d. 19.2 cm, 7 5/8  in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD (63,700 - 89,180 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 145. A rare pair of blue and white 'Dragon' ogee bowls, marks and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 17 cm, 6 5/8  in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD (50,960 - 76,440 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

L0t 130. A pair of lemon-yellow glazed small dishes, Seal marks and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 8.9 cm, 3 1/2  in.. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD (50,960 - 76,440 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

 Lot 143. A fine blue and white bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 37 cm, 14 1/2  in. Estimate 300,000 — 500,000 HKD (38,220 - 63,700 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 129. A peachbloom-glazed beehive waterpot, mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 12.5 cm, 4 7/8  in. Estimate 300,000 — 400,000 HKD (38,220 - 50,960 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 119. A rare blue and white zhadou, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); h. 8.5 cm, 3 3/8  in. Estimate 250,000 — 350,000 HKD (31,850 - 44,590 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.