A FAHUA STONEWARE BOWL, MING DYNASTY China, 15^th to 16th century. The globular sides rising to a lipped rim and carved in relief with bold, leafy lotus sprays, the interior and lip glazed turquoise, the lotus covered in glassy white, aubergine and turquoise glazes on a rich emerald green ground, the base glazed in aubergine.

Provenance: Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris 1986, inventory number 3373634, a French private collector acquired from the above at the price of 40,800 francs, which in today’s currency amounts to c. EUR 15,800 after inflation. A copy of the original invoice, dated 24 March 1986, describing the present piece as a ‘Coupe fahua ornée d’un décor floral stylisé. Chine, époque Ming 17ème siècle’, accompanies this lot. The Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes (China and India Company) in Paris was founded in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers, acquired in 1935 by Robert Rousset and later run by his grandnephews Mike Winter-Rousset and Hervé du Peuty. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, Robert Rousset developed the business, and the company became one of the most important dealers for Asian art in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, extensive glaze flaking on the inside with associated ancient touchups. Chipping to the foot rim, mostly likely from the manufacturing process, a hairline crack at the lip, some manufacturing irregularities such as pitting, and glaze recesses.

Weight: 1,418 g
Dimensions: Height 12.4 cm, Diameter 22.9 cm

Literature comparison: For similar stoneware bowls with fahua-type decoration see 'Ming Ceramics In The British Museum', Jessica Harrison-Hall, British Museum Press, 2001, p.424, nos. 13:29 and 13:30. Compare a closely related fahua bowl, also dated to the Ming dynasty, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, registration number Franks.196.+.

Auction result comparison: Compare a very similar fahua stoneware bowl, also dated 15^th to 16^th century, at Christie’s Hong Kong in Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 27 November 2007, lot 1758, sold for HKD 343,500.

明代法華蓮紋碗
中國，十五至十六世紀。唇沿，斜圓腹。外壁卷葉蓮紋。勾勒成凸線的紋飾輪廓，然後分別以黃、綠、紫釉料，色澤濃艷。

來源：巴黎Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes中印公司，1986年, 編號 3373634；一個法國私人藏家購於上述公司，40,800 法郎，相當於現在的 EUR 15,800 。隨附一份1986年3月24日出具的原始發票副本，上面把此拍品描述為“中國明代法華彩釉花卉紋“。巴黎的中印公司由 Blazy 兄弟於 20 世紀初創立，1935 年由 Robert Rousset 收購，後來由他的外甥 Mike Winter-Rousset 和 Hervé du Peuty 經營。Robert Rousset的妹妹 Suzanne 負責瓷器，他發展業務，該公司成為法國最重要的亞洲藝術品經銷商之一，向大型博物館出售作品，包括Guimet和大都會藝術博物館。
品相：狀況良好，舊磨損，內部有大量釉料剝落，曾經修補過。足部有磕損，很可能來自製造過程，唇部有細裂紋，一些製造瑕疵，如麻點和釉面凹陷。

重量：1418 克
尺寸：高12.4 厘米, 直徑22.9 厘米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的十五至十六世紀法華碗，見香港佳士得Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2007年11月27日 lot 1758, 售價HKD 343,500。