the shallow rounded sides rising from a short straight foot, finely decorated around the exterior in underglaze-blue outlines and contrasted enamels with five bats fluttering through dense foliate and fruiting branches of peach, the bats detailed in shades of iron red and the veined leaves in various tones of green, the fruits picked out with touches of pale green, yellow and red, all between double-line borders at the rim and foot, the interior centred with a leafy peach spray, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark within double squares

A French private collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th April 2013, lot 3034.

The bowl is in overall very good condition with only a few very fine specks on the outer rim.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present finely painted doucai bowl is a rare showcase for how the Yongzheng potter has adapted and modified an earlier, Ming dynasty, design to suit contemporary taste yet, at the same time, retaining much of the original flavour. The inspiration may be found in Chenghua bowls decorated with medallions of fruit and flowers in doucai enamels, the interior delicately painted with a single fruiting branch and the base with a square six-character Chenghua mark, such as the piece included in the Special exhibition of Ch’eng-hua Porcelain Ware, 1465-1487, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2003, cat. no. 151. This bowl is also reminiscent of Chenghua doucai cups painted with fruiting peach branches, such as the seven pieces included ibid., cat. nos 161-167, also with square Chenghua marks on the base.

During the Kangxi period, the Chenghua motif was further developed, as may be seen on a bowl in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Yeh Pei-Lang, Gems of the Doucai, Taipei, 1993, pl. 66, where the body is painted with a continuous band of flowering and fruiting peach branch. However, aesthetically the Kangxi design is not as delicate or attractive as that created by the Yongzheng artist.

For Yongzheng mark and period doucai bowls decorated with bats amongst fruiting peach branches see a pair sold in these rooms 10th April 2006, lot 1790; and another similar pair sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 13th November 1987, lot 485. A large fruiting peach tree, painted in a similar naturalistic manner as seen on the present bowl, features on a Yongzheng mark and period dish, from the Goldschmidt Collection, sold in these rooms, 13th November 1990, lot 36; and on another dish sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2007, lot 851.