A fine pair of doucai 'fruit' medallion bowls, Seal marks and period of Jiaqing

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

Compare a closely related bowl in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 363. See also a Qianlong mark and period example from the collection of Soame Jenyns, sold at Christie’s London, 6th November 2018, lot 38.

The charming floral design on the present pair was derived from a related design applied to Kangxi bowls of a more conventional rounded form. Compare an example of this prototypical form in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 197.