One year ago, Sotheby’s Hong Kong held “Pilkington Collection” sale, featuring 97 lots from Roger Pilkington (1928-69), the prominent collector of Chinese ceramics. This year, the auction house holds “Pilkington Collection” sale again, featuring 6 precious yellow porcelains from Maureen Pilkington (1928-2011), Roger Pilkington’s beloved wife.

This sale comprises a monochrome dish of Chenghua mark and period. This dish was from the collection of H. R. N. Norton (d.1961/2), renowned London dealer, while John Sparks Ltd and Bluett & Sons Ltd had respectively bought it from Sotheby’s London in the 60s. Chenghua porcelains with yellow glaze are very rare, no more than twendy monochrome yellow dishes of Chenghua mark and period are recorded. Only three of them are in private collections, the others are all in museum collections, while only four dishes including the present one ever seem to have appeared at auction.

The lot with the highest estimate is a yellow-ground blue and white “gardenia” dish of Hongzhi mark and period. Gardenia is a flower rarely depicted on Chinese ceramics, it is not associated with auspicious meaning, but the highly fragrant flowers were popular with ladies to wear in the hair, and were used for flavouring tea and for preparing cosmetics in ancient China. This dish belonged to the collection of Sir Percival David (1892-1964), one of the most important collector of Chinese ceramics in the 20th century, and later the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. In late 60s, it was sold at auction. The pair to the present dish is still in the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum.

Auction Details

Auction House: Sotheby's Hong Kong
Sale: Yellow-Ground Wares From The Collection Of Maureen Pilkington
Sale No.: HK0724
Lots: 6
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 10am
 

Top Lots

AN EXCEPTIONAL YELLOW-GROUND BLUE AND WHITE ‘GARDENIA’ DISH, MARK AND PERIOD OF HONGZHI

Lot No.:2
Diameter: 26.1cm
Estimate: HK$2,500,000 - 3,500,000

AN IMPORTANT IMPERIAL YELLOW DISH, MARK AND PERIOD OF CHENGHUA

Lot No.:1
Diameter: 14.8cm
Estimate: HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000

A RARE YELLOW-GROUND BLUE AND WHITE ‘GARDENIA’ DISH, MARK AND PERIOD OF ZHENGDE

Lot No.:4
Diameter: 21.6cm
Estimate: HK$900,000 - 1,200,000