Page 170 - 2019 OctoberSur Quo Wei Lee Collectim Important Chinese Art Hong Kong

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A COPPER-RED AND UNDERGLAZE-BLUE CUPSTAND
SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

清乾隆 青花釉裏紅花卉紋盞托
《大清乾隆年製》款

the deep round hollow bowl with an incurved rim, painted
in underglaze red with a row of pendent pomegranates
extending from a band of cobalt-blue trefoils and keyfret
around the mouth, collared by a broad flat dish painted with
four blossoming sprays, the underside with six florets on
stylised foliage, all supported on a slightly flared foot skirted
with overlapping arches, each enclosing a red trefoil motif, the
inner foot inscribed with a six-character horizontal seal mark
17 cm, 6⅝ in.

HK$ 180,000-250,000
US$ 23,100-32,000

This elegant type of cupstand, which first appeared in the
Yongzheng reign, gained popularity in the Qianlong period.
The Nanjing Museum has a comparable example of Qianlong
mark and period, as well as a blue and white example of the
Yongzheng reign, both illustrated in Xu Huping, ed., Zhongguo
Qingdai guanyao ciqi/ The Official Kiln Porcelain of the
Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pp. 139 and 219.
Another Qianlong underglaze-red and blue cupstand in the
Tokyo National Museum, from the collection of Dr Yokogawa
Tamisuke, is illustrated in Tōkyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan
zuhan mokuroku: Chūgoku tōji hen/ Illustrated Catalogues
of Tokyo National Museum: Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo, 1988-
1990, vol. II, no. 566. For a rare Yongzheng prototype with
underglaze-red and blue decoration, see one formerly in
the collection of Dr Carl Kempe and later in the Meiyintang
collection, sold in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 47.

Mark