In the world of Chinese porcelains, size often matters the value of an art piece inversely. The “In His Majesty’s Palm: Exquisite Porcelain Playthings” sale presents a selection of palm-sized but refined wares, mostly wine and tea cups. All the 9 lots offered are imperial possessions, made for the enjoyment of the emperors and empresses.

Delicately painted in soft tone of cobalt-blue, the exterior with six evenly spaced flowering gardenia sprigs, the Chenghua blue and white cup of which the diameter only reaches 7.8 cm, is the top lot of the sale. The painting of the gardenia sprigs is extremely rare among blue and white porcelains; and perhaps this is the first of its kind ever seen with such motifs. Inside the cup, the interior is made with a shallow domed centre and decorated with a medallion. The base shows the six-character reign mark in a double rectangle, which is identical to that of the famous doucai ‘chicken’ cup auctioned for HK$28 million in 2014. This cup also shares characteristic shape of the period, with wide, countersunk base and steep sides.

The second top lot is a doucai stem cup from the same period. It is finely decorated in underglaze blue as well as red, yellow and green enamels with four medallions of roses. The underside of the stem is inscribed with a six-character mark written in semi-circle. The doucai ‘chicken’ cup from the Yongzheng period of Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong enamelled blue ‘yangcai’ sgraffiato ‘floral’ bowl, and the pair of famille-rose ‘tribute bearers’ incense holders share the third place of the most expensive lots of the sale with the same estimation range.

Top Lots

AN EXTREMELY FINE AND RARE BLUE AND WHITE CUP
MARK AND PERIOD OF CHENGHUA

Lot No.: 3102
Diameter: 7.8 cm
Estimate: HK$15,000,000-20,000,000

AN EXTREMELY RARE DOUCAI STEM CUP
MARK AND PERIOD OF CHENGHUA

Lot No.: 3101
Height: 7.7 cm
Estimate: HK$8,000,000-12,000,000

A FINE AND EXQUISITE DOUCAI ‘CHICKEN’ CUP
MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

Lot No.: 3106
Diameter: 8.2 cm
Estimate: HK$7,000,000-9,000,000

AN EXTREMELY RARE AND SUPERBLY ENAMELLED BLUE 'YANGCAI' SGRAFFIATO 'FLORAL' BOWL
SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

Lot No.: 3107
Diameter: 9.8 cm
Estimate: HK$7,000,000-9,000,000

A PAIR OF SMALL AND RARE FAMILLE-ROSE 'TRIBUTE BEARERS' INCENSE HOLDERS
SEAL MARKS AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

Lot No.: 3108
Height: 11.5 cm
EstimateL HK$7,000,000-9,000,000

Sale Details

Auction House: Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Sale: In His Majesty’s Palm: Exquisite Porcelain Playthings
Sale No.: HK0728
Lot No.: 9
Viewing:
2017/3/31  10am-5:30pm
2017/4/1-2  10am-8pm
2017/4/3-4  10am-6:30pm
Sale Time: 2017/4/5  10:30am