Page 177 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art December 2014
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Property from Various Owners 8335
A doucai-decorated prunus and magpie dish
8334 Kangxi six-character mark and of the period
A doucai-decorated flower spray bowl Depicting two magpies alighting on a flowering prunus branch rising
Qianlong six-character mark and of the period amid bamboo, a garden rock and fence in a roundel to the center
Painted in underglaze blue outline and brightly colored overglaze of the well while bamboo, prunus and camellia branches appear
enamels with a flower spray surrounded by a band of flower heads on the exterior walls, all outlined in underglaze blue and colored
and then an elaborate interlace frame with floral buds, the exterior with overglaze enamels, the mark on the recessed base drawn in
repeating the floral sprays in six reserves framed by further interlaced underglaze blue regular script within a double ring.
scrolls and flower buds unfolding below a band of lappets in 6 1/8in (15.6cm) diameter
underglaze blue against a rich yellow ground, the mark written in $30,000 - 50,000
underglaze blue seal script to the recessed base.
5 3/4in (15cm) diameter Terese Tse Bartholomew has identified the combination of magpies,
$5,000 - 7,000 prunus branch and bamboo as a rebus for ‘double happiness for the
bride and groom’ (zhumei shuangxi): see Hidden Meanings in Chinese
Another Qianlong bowl with the same decoration was sold in Art, 2006, p.52, 2.17.11.
Bonhams, Hong Kong sale 17684, 28 November 2009, lot 310
(5 3/4in/15cm diameter). See also the Qianlong example sold in A similar dish, 15.7cm diameter, is published in Gugong bowuyuan
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong sale HK0399, 9 October 2012, lot 3100 cang wenwu zhenpin quanji, vol. 38, ‘Wucai, Doucai,’ 2008, p. 22,
(6in/15.3cm diameter). cat. no. 193. See also the pair of dishes sold in Sotheby’s, Hong Kong
sale HK0269, 11 April 2008, lot 2906, 15.8cm diameter.
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