A fine copper-red and underglaze-blue 'immortals' bowl, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period

Collection of Sir Thomas Beaumont Hohler (1871-1946), and thence by descent.

This vibrant and auspicious design of the Immortals and Shoulao with their various attributes atop a rich ground of copper-red waves was produced from as early as the Kangxi period. Compare a bowl of this design from the collection of Ko Fook Chuen, the base with a four-character Caihuatang zhi hall mark, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29th May 2024, lot 23; and a Qianlong mark and period bowl sold at Christie’s London, 12th December 1988, lot 326. Compare also a number of similar bowls of Kangxi mark and period with a leiwen key-fret design to the foot, including one illustrated in Masahiko Satō, Chinese Ceramics: A Short History, New York, 1981, pl. 303 and another sold in these rooms, 11th December 1978, lot 58. 

The Yuyan shuwu (Library for Washing Inkstones) hall mark was used during the reigns of the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors. Compare a dish bearing the same four-character mark in black enamel, decorated with an iron-red dragon among underglaze blue clouds, sold at Christie’s New York, 15th September 2016, lot 973.