Page 10 - Nov. 2019 Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Ceramics

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2902

A FINE AND VERY RARE WHITE-GLAZED ᪺༒ᶑ Ⅾ㕳ᱩ◢㣅㹪♄↢ Վಧ╌ᕋᢎ
ANHUA-DECORATED ‘DRAGON’ BOWL
KANGXI SLIP-DECORATED SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK AND OF Ϝᬜ
THE PERIOD (1662-1722)
ჺ㐟ᙻ㲞ᳰ
The egg-shell thin bowl is decorated in slip on the interior with
᫉⎾⫭⺧ൈ⾰ᬄ卿㞏᭮ݏᵴൈ⢵卿ἃᄮᾭ֎ᾅ᭦ᦼ≿⎊㞏Ԡ⠢৅ǯᄮᾭ
two scaly dragons amidst clouds. The centre of the interior is
⎊㞏ᜡⱤ⎾ߎẅ⟾⡠㱈ࣿᜡߴ⡠㱈ݦ♎卿ទ⎾ྏ߿⩢卿ᙇ㞔㙭ᬘᇌ⩢ཐ卿
inscribed in slip with a Kangxi reign mark in seal script.
᱁۔׾ຽἃᙇӶഅ卿ൈࢶ՗ࢷ⁒㩴⻦Ӭ׾卿㱈ẅ⟾㫡⡠卿ᄓᝧᄮᾭ㬪Ɽ
3¬ in. (9.3 cm.) diam., box
᪪卿ⶬ㢙ᙻǶԋஇ᳖ջ໶⚨≢଍Ƿ卿ӳᱡ卿 ჺ卿㮰 厎औӬ։
HK$600,000-800,000 US$77,000-100,000 ჺ ᝲ ᚚᙻ㲞ᳰצ೥ᇑᐽ㐈卿ᐽ৅ ⽚ǯ
PROVENANCE औ㇦ᄮᾭᜡߴ㫐䂆Ꮘⅸ⡠׾ຽ卿ൈ⇧೥㷿᭄Ⅷ⻦Ӭ⎾卿ऱ᧙ᄓᝧᄮᾭ
Acquired in Hong Kong, 2011 㬪Ɽ᪪卿ⶬ㢙ᙻ + "ZFST卿Ƕ5IF #BVS $PMMFDUJPO WPM ***Ƿ卿ᚚݤ≖卿
ჺ卿எ " ⽚厎औӬ׾ἃ .D&MOFZ Ⅷ⻦卿 ჺཿ㈇ᙻ࠼ᑣഌ
This delicately potted bowl, with eggshell-thin walls and a lustrous,
satiny glaze, is modelled after the highly coveted tianbai (sweet white) ⣠അߧՌ⻱ワ㱦Ƕ1PSDFMBJO PG )JHI 2JOHǷ卿எ ⽚ǯ
porcelains from the Yongle period. Kangxi white-glazed bowls with
anhua ‘hidden’ decorations usually come in two forms: the first type ٿᇑ᯷ዪ⎏ᛓ卿ӳ㘚׾ຽமⶔᄮᾭ㬪Ɽᥓᝧ᪪卿⯝ទ⎾ݤᄓӳԠẅ⟾❨
with motifs decorated in slip, such as the current example; the second ᝧ᪪ᝳߣ卿ᝤ㇦ᇌ⩢Ԡ㫙⬒ज㏟ǯ
type with motifs incised onto the biscuit body. Slip-decorated examples
appear to be much rarer, with very few pieces known, including a white-
glazed wide bowl decorated with cloud motifs in slip, inscribed on the
base with an underglaze-blue Kangxi mark, from the Nanjing Museum,
illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty,
Shanghai, 2003, p. 106; and another one sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
2 December 2015, lot 3194.
There are also examples of Kangxi white-glazed bowls with anhua
dragons, but of incised decorations, such as a bowl incised with two
dragons pursuing flaming pearls and with an underglaze-blue reign
mark from the Baur Collection, illustrated by J. Ayers in the Baur
Collection, vol. III, Geneva, 1972, no. A408; and one in the McElney
Collection was included in the exhibition, Porcelain of the High Qing, Art
Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1983, no. 32.
It is notable that all the aforementioned examples, both incised and
slip-decorated, have underglaze-blue Kangxi reign marks written in
standard script, unlike the slip-decorated mark in seal script as seen on
the current bowl, making it highly unusual and exceedingly rare.

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