PERIOD: 18th century
A RARE 'ARCHAIC-BRONZE'-GLAZED PETAL-MOLDED TRIPOD NARCISSUS BOWL YONGZHENG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD measurements note diameter 14 1/8 in., 35.8 cm DESCRIPTION the low circular bowl with rounded sides and everted rim, molded in the form of six ribbed and barbed petals, all on a low conforming foot ring raised on three scrolling feet, the body covered with a rich opaque-brown glaze with black speckling and slight metallic sheen, thinning to a transparent mocha-brown on the underside of the base, six spur marks to the underside, wood stand (2) PROVENANCE Christie's Hong Kong, 25th October 1993, lot 803. CATALOGUE NOTE Narcissus bowls with this type of dark-brown glaze made to simulate bronze are extremely rare. The shape of Qing narcissus bowls of this type are closely modeled after earlier mold-made flower vessels produced in Yuzhou, Henan province, an area formerly known as Junzhou. See three 'Jun' narcissus bowls of this elegant form illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pls. 29-31, all of different dimensions. The present flower vessel is closely related to a piece from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, but covered in a purple glaze imitating 'Jun' wares, also with a Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 178, and also included in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 14, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 232. Another similar Jun-type Yongzheng narcissus bowl in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the exhibition Qingdai danse you ciqi tezhan, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1981, cat.no. 84; a third is published in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva. Chinese Ceramics, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pl. A355, together with a mallow-shaped flowerpot also covered with a Jun-type glaze, pl. A 354. A related Yongzheng narcissus bowl with Jun-type glaze was also sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th November 1989, lot 190; a lilac-glazed example was sold in our London rooms, 7th June 1988, lot 341. Compare also a smaller teadust-glazed vessel of this form, from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III, sold at Christie's New York, 21st September 1995, lot 251, with a rare four-character Yongzheng mark on the base.
PRIX: $50000