sturdily potted with thick deep rounded walls resting on a short foot, the exterior finely decorated in shaded tones of cobalt blue with eight lotus blooms borne on and wreathed by undulating foliate scrolls above a border of upright lotus petal lappets, all between two bands enclosing clouds wisps encircling the rim and foot

It is in overall very good condition. The mouthrim has a tiny stained line to the glaze. There are also minor surface wear and original firing imperfections such as frittings and stained burst bubbles.
"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."

This bowl is a rare version of an important and interesting group of blue and white porcelain from the Xuande period. This group of bowls are characterised by their large yet finely potted shallow form, deliberate sturdily potted walls, evidenced in the walls which are about 1 cm thick, their exquisitely painted designs rendered in cobalt blue on the exterior and their undecorated interior. The thickness of the potting is gracefully counterbalanced through the delicate and lyrical design of lotus blooms set within ‘C’ scrolls, a movement that is accentuated through the clouds that border it. Almost all of these bowls have the six-character reign mark of Xuande written just below the rim and it is only on the present type that the mark appears under a cloud scroll at the rim, a motif that is repeated on the foot.

Closely related bowls include one of similar size included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 25; one from the Frederick T. Fuller collection, sold at Christie’s London, 28th/29th June 1965, lot 146, and again in our London rooms, 10th June 1986, lot 222; another from the J.M. Hu collection, sold in our New York rooms, 4th June 1985, lot 6; and a fourth example sold in our London rooms, 12th December 1978, lot 379. Slightly smaller examples are also known, such as one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 43; a bowl in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu/Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 150; one sold in these rooms, 14th November 1989, lot 19, and three times at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996,𒊎 lot 710, 27th May 2008, lot 1847, and 1st December 2010, lot 3112; and another sold at Christie’s New York, 23rd June 1982, lot 86.

The purpose of these shallow bowls has not yet been definitely determined. In the exhibition catalogue Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, op. cit., p. 53, it⛦ is suggested that🔯 such bowls were possibly used as dice bowls in the palace for playing dice, used by scholars as brush washers, as fruit bowls, or for the popular game of cricket fights as the thickness of the bowls would have rendered them an ideal battleground for combating crickets.