Sotheby’s Offers Yellow-Glazed Kangxi Bowl, White-Glazed Ming Dynasty Stem Bowl, and Other Rarities

Available from Sotheby’s this September is an extensive collection of Ming and Qing porcelains, early ceramics, jades, and other items. Among the top lots is a large yellow-glazed bowl bearing a Kangxi mark at the base. Under the Kangxi Emperor, large yellow-glazed bowls with imperial marks witnessed a renaissance during the Jiajing period. Ceramics produced under this rule established standards for later reigns and introduced innovation and technical excellence in pottery making. The available bowl has an egg-yolk-yellow glaze on both sides, with a deep, rounded body that rises to a slightly out-curved rim. Also available is a white-glazed stem bowl, a 15th-century item from the Ming dynasty. These bowls were made for imperial ceremonies during the reign of the Yongle Emperor. As a Tibetan Buddhist devotee, Yongle used these wares in rituals and gave them to Tibetan monasteries. The present stem bowl is characterized by its perfectly balanced profile, typical of the 15th century, and is finished with a lustrous white glaze, called tianbai in Chinese. It is adorned with anhua, or ‘secret decoration,’ representing the Eight Buddhist Emblems.

Among Chinese paintings in the sale, an ink-on-paper hand scroll poem by Ruan Yuan is notable. Ruan Yuan was a major figure in Chinese culture and intellectual life in the early 19th century. Ruan Yuan authored writing in a running script, as seen in this scroll. Bidders can also consider a peach bloom-glazed brush washer from the Kangxi period, a collection of Chinese art reference books, and a pair of archaic bronze ‘tiger’ mat weights from the Han dynasty. Visit Sotheby’s website for more information on this Chinese Art sale and to register to bid. Find more auction previews and news on Auction Daily.