清乾隆 粉彩蓮瓣紋蓋盌 六字篆書款清乾隆 粉彩蓮瓣紋蓋盌 六字篆書款4 1⁄4 in. (10.8 cm.) diam.Details A FINE AND VERY RARE FAMILLE ROSE ‘LOTUS’ BOWL AND COVERQIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)The bowl is finely enamelled with two bands of overlapping lotus petals between a green band encircling the foot in imitation of the lotus stem and a band of stamens to the mouth rim. The domed cover is similarly decorated with a band of overlapping petals and leaves below a seed pod surmounted by a gilt finial.4 1⁄4 in. (10.8 cm.) diam. Provenance Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 November 1988, lot 386 Literature Robert Jacobsen, Ye Peilan and Julian Thompson: Imperial Perfection.The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors, Kangxi - Yongzheng - Qianlong, Hong Kong, 2004, p. 164-167, no. 59 Exhibited On loan to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2003-2020This vibrantly enamelled bowl, reminiscent of a lotus blossom, is inspired by the metal-body prototype first seen during the Kangxi period, such as a painted enamel bowl and cover of the same design bearing a Kangxi yuzhi mark, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Museum’s Special Exhibition of Enamelled Painted Wares of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Taipei, 1979, no. 128. (fig. 1) While porcelain versions bearing Qianlong marks are known, extremely few examples retain the original cover, making the current lot exceptionally rare.Compare to a few Qianlong porcelain bowls of the same design but lacking the cover, including one sold at Christie’s New York, 23 March 1995, lot 400; a pair sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 October 2016, lot 3603; and also a pair of Qianlong-marked dishes of this design, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 November 1978, lot 309.This type of porcelain bowls continued to be made during the later periods, such as a Daoguang example sold at Sotheby’s New York, 12 September 2018, lot 381; and a Guangxu example sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2017, lot 1272.