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finely potted, the rounded sides with slightly everted rim, painted in brilliant enamels around the exterior with a colorful array of highly stylized blossoms issuing leaves of varying shades of green,  including delicately shaded peonies in blue, stippled blue, pink and yellow, pale pink and bright blue asters and pale yellow, iron-red stippled lily blooms, all reserved on a rich coral-red ground, the interior glazed white, the base with a four-character mark in underglaze blue within a double square

Sotheby's New York, 23rd October 1976, lot 305.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 24th November 1987, lot 167.
Christie's London, 11th December 1989, lot 173.
Jingguantang Collection, Hong Kong.
Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 582.
S. Marchant & Son, London, 1997.

The Trammel and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas, 2000-2002.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2002- August 2013.

The Tsui Museum of Art, Chinese Ceramics, vol. IV, 1995, no. 160.

The bowl is in good condition with some very minor wear to the surface.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Discussion on this bowl, with much gratitude to Terese Tse Bartholomew, former curator at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and author of Hidden Meanings, Hong Kong, 2006, highlighted the somewhat enigmatic nature of the floral painting.  Ms. Bartholomew noted that the flowers are stylized beyond precise identification with only the peonies and asters being recognizable. Given the exacting nature of the enamel work with its delicate variations of tone and gentle turns and twists of leaves and petals, the abstraction of the blooms would seem to be purposeful. Therefore the meaning of this category of well-known imperial bowl must be of a general sort rather than a specific rebus. The lush profusion of finely and brilliantly painted flowers speaks eloquently of a wish for a life of eternal florescence and prosperity. The saying hua kai fu gui is a popular one which means 'when flowers bloom, there is prosperity'. From tiny buds preparing to burst forth to heavy-petaled peonies in the last moments of full bloom, the wealth of flowers blossom eternally, immortalized on the bowl.

In The Tsui Museum of Art, Chinese Ceramics, vol. IV, on p. 69, Yang Boda’s essay refers directly to the present bowl. The author relates that the court held monopoly on the falang style ended in 1728 when Tang Ying was moved from the Imperial Household Department to Jingdezhen bringing with him the knowledge of falang painting.  “Of contrasting style is the falang bowl painted with peonies and chrysanthemums in blue, yellow and white on a deep red ground (QPY039, pl. 160). Whereas the formal composition on the cup and stand (QPY010a,b, pl. 157) reflects courtly taste, the decoration of the bowl has a pleasing naturalism. In terms of the quality of their enamels they are equally fine in texture and color, and exemplify the highest standard of Yongzheng falang enamel wares.”(pp. 68-69).

A nearly identical bowl in the Cleveland Museum of Art is illustrated in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command, Hong Kong, 1976, col pl. 81, together with a second bowl decorated in famille-verte enamels and with a Yongzheng yuzhi mark, pl. 75, and a smaller bowl with a Kangxi yuzhi mark, pl. 74, the marks all of four characters and in underglaze blue within a double square.  Moss discusses this group, which he attributes to the Jingdezhen imperial kilns, pp. 81-82, and concludes that the close similarity between the Kangxi and Yongzheng examples signifies that the Kangxi bowls should be attributed to the last few months of the Kangxi period and the Yongzheng examples to 'little more than a year or two at the beginning of the reign". For further similar examples compare a pair of ruby-ground bowls sold in our Hong Kong rooms 3rd May 1994, lot 227 and another related bowl but with famille-verte decoration and a yuzhi mark sold in our Hong Kong rooms 4th April 2012, lot 49.