Page 64 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 Hong Kong

The Property of an Important Asian Collector See a Ming dynasty version of a blue and white moonflask decorated
with leafy scrolls (accession no.GU143576) in the Palace Museum,
238 Beijing, illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Mingchu Qinghua Ci.
A fine and rare blue and white ‘thousand butterflies’ moonflask, Shang Ce, Beijing, 2002, pp.166-167, no.87. Compare also a mid Qing
bianhu dynasty bianhu decorated with a bird perched on flowering prunus
Qianlong tree branches and with similar unmarked base dated to the Yongzheng
Crisply potted rising from a short recessed oval foot, the cylindrical period in the Meiyintang collection, previously in the Richard de la Mare
neck flanked by a pair of gently lobed handles, the main body and neck collection and later in the Su Lin An collection, illustrated by Regina
decorated all round with butterflies in flight and evenly scattered floral Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection. Volume Four
sprays, all framed between encircling shrubs at the foot and downward (II), London, 2010, pp.232-233, no.1712.
ruyi-head and floral lappets at the shoulder, lingzhi and bamboo
bordered by meandering scroll and trefoil diaper borders.
32.5cm high.
HK$200,000 - 300,000
US$26,000 - 39,000

清乾隆 青花百蝶花卉靈芝紋抱月瓶

The current of moonflask (or bianhu form) originates from the Ming
dynasty Yongle and Xuande period prototypes. Although the present lot
retains the general Ming-style form, the design has further developed
with wider neck and elongated handles as well as a more prominent oval
foot at the base towards Qing dynasty. It also represents the continuous
development and stylistic achievements in porcelain production during
the seventeenth century, for example, the greater control and use of
the different shades of blue to create significantly more complicated
decorative motifs such as butterflies in flight.

62 | Bonhams