A PAIR OF WUCAI 'DRAGON AND PHOENIX' BOWLS MARKS AND PERIOD OF KANGXI

each finely potted with steeply rounded sides rising to a flared rim, the exterior brightly enamelled with a green and a red dragon chasing flaming pearls interspersed with two descending phoenix in flight on a ground of floral sprays, all below a narrow band of bajixiang alternating withruyi heads, the interior with a central medallion enclosing an iron-red dragon among flames in pursuit of a flaming pearl, the base inscribed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle

(2)
13CM

• Lot Sold $160,000 (Hammer Price)
• $195,200 (Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium)

Provenance

Acquired in Australia in the 1940s or 1950s (by repute)
By descent

These bowls with auspicious representation of a dragon and phoenix convey a wish for a happy marriage. This particular decoration first produced during the Kangxi period was so successful that several later reigns of the Qing Dynasty produced their own versions of this composition with its brilliant distinctive palette. Wucai 'dragon and phoenix' bowls of Kangxi mark and period in three different sizes were included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 26 from the Nanjing Museum, which houses a large part of the former Imperial collection. Two further similar examples are illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl.153 A similar single bowl was sold at Sotheby's, New York, 12 September 2012, lot 260

Condition Report

A pair of Dragon and Phoenix bowls One bowl with three shallow frits on footrim, the other bowl with two tiny specks on the side of the interior, one in blue and one in grey. Generally very good condition.