As we continue to marvel at the strength of the Chinese art market, we reflect on what was another strong Asian art sale at Roseberys.

Leading the sale was Lot 37, a Chinese porcelain underglaze blue and yellow enamel square bowl, powerfully decorated with dragons in underglaze blue on a yellow enamelled ground, inscribed to the base with the reign mark of emperor Jiajing (1521-1567) and of the period. During Jiajing Period, many collectors and connoisseurs preferred the kind of ceramics which had unusual shapes since they were rare and difficult to achieve.

_{A Chinese porcelain underglaze blue and yellow enamel square bowl, Jiajing mark and of the period}

_{明嘉靖 黃地青花纏枝龍紋壽字方盌 《大明嘉靖年製》款}

_{Sold for: £60,000}

Thus, Lot 37 is probably one of the best examples of square bowls emanating from the Jiajing Imperial Kiln. Despite a condition issue - a polished rim, this received a huge amount of interest, prior to the sale, with bids being tendered from across the world, eventually selling to a collector in the room for £48,000 (hammer)

A similar example is housed in the Percival David Collection of the British Museum, acc. no. PDF.724.

Another imperial lot in our sale was Lot 59; a rare Chinese Imperial archaistic cloisonné enamel and gilt bronze ritual vessel, known as a ding, dated to the Qianlong period. The form and decorations of this vessel, unmistakably inspired by archaic bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, emphasize Qianlong's admiration and appreciation for ancient vessels. For example, the domed cover with flared knop is decorated with a continuous design of Kui dragons in dark blue enamels on a turquoise ground. Kui dragon 夔龍, was one of the most common decorations on the bronze vessels between the late Shang and Western Zhou periods. This form, with the domed cover and flared finial, is particularly rare, yet the different decorative devices can be found on numerous imperial objects in museum collections and important collections of imperial cloisonné. The same kui-dragon motif in two shades of blue, with the eyes, horns, and ears picked out in coloured enamels, can be seen on a vase in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, the Enamel Volume, no. 133.

_{Lot 59: A rare Chinese Imperial archaistic cloisonné enamel and gilt bronze ritual vessel, ding, Qianlong period,}

_{清乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺瑯夔龍紋獅耳三足大熏爐}

_{Sold for: £13,750}

The sale also included Lot 31, a rare Chinese Yijun pottery 'leaf' brush-washer, 18th/19th century, and Lot 30, a pair of Chinese Yijun pottery tea bowls and saucers, 17th/18th century. Yixing pottery with a jun-type glaze is known as 'Yijun'. Popular in the late Ming and throughout the Qing dynasty, Yijun wares imitated junyao pieces from the Song dynasty and were consequently favoured by the imperial court, who collected and revered pieces that paid tribute to what was considered a high point in ceramic production.

_{Lot 31: A rare Chinese Yijun pottery 'leaf' brush washer, 18th/19th century, 1954}

_{十八/十九世紀 宜鈞釉秋葉洗}

_{Sold for: £18,750}

_{Lot 30: A pair of Chinese Yijun pottery tea bowls and saucers, 17th/18th century}

_{十七/十八世紀 宜鈞釉花式茶盌及小盤一對}

_{Sold for £30,000}

Earlier in the date of manufacture but produced for the export market, lot 438 started on day two of the sale, selling for £8,000 (hammer) despite showing a star crack to base. This demonstrates the strength of blue and white pieces from the Kangxi era.

Lot 438: A Chinese porcelain blue and white 'hundred boys' baluster vase, Kangxi period

清康熙 青花百子圖大梅瓶

Sold for: £10,000

Hailing from the Qianlong period, lot 42 was a Chinese pale green jade circular box and covered, Qianlong period. This box is finely reticulated to depict two fish encircling a flower, a highly skilled technique known as loudiao (鏤雕), which originated in the Neolithic period.

Most probably the carving of the two fish encircling a flower at the centre of the cover is a style that has been followed and improved upon since the Neolithic period when Zhejiang Yuyao Hemudu began to carve fish sculptures in round objects. 

Jade carvings of this quality, where the artist employed loudiao techniques, have always been popular among Chinese collectors.

_{Lot 42: A Chinese reticulated pale green jade circular box and cover, Qianlong period}

_{清乾隆 青玉鏤雕雙魚纏枝蓮紋圓蓋盒}

_{Sold for: £8,125}

Lot 50 in the sale is thought to be the only example of a bowl carved from duan stone inscribed with the mark of and from the period of emperor Daoguang.

Duan stone is one of the most valued inkstones in China and is named after the Duanxi River where it was initially found. Duan stone is a material typically used for scholar’s table screens and ink stones.  Hence, it is extremely rare to find a bowl carved entirely from one piece of stone, and even rarer to find the reign mark of Emperor Daoguang on the base. This bowl was consigned by the grandson of an important collector who acquired it in Hongkong in 1954.

A rare Chinese carved duan stone 'lotus and butterflies' bowl, Daoguang mark and of the period,

清道光 端石雕花蝶紋盌 《大清道光年製》款

Sold for: £17,500

The next Asian art auction will take place from 8^th to 9^th November 2022, and is now open for consignment.

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