CHINESE CLAIR-DE-LUNE PORCELAIN BOWL WITH YONGZHENG MARK. CHINA, LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURY

An elegant Chinese porcelain bowl executed in the tradition of monochrome imperial wares and covered with a refined clair-de-lune (tianlan) glaze of delicate sky-blue tone, distinguished by its remarkable depth of colour and soft silky lustre. The piece represents a fine example of Chinese artistic porcelain produced during the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, drawing inspiration from the celebrated imperial porcelains of the Yongzheng reign.

The bowl is of generous rounded form with a high upright rim modelled as stylised bamboo stalks. The lip is enriched with a rhythmic series of raised bamboo nodes, lending sculptural refinement and architectural balance to the silhouette. This restrained decorative treatment combines the purity of monochrome glaze with one of the most enduring symbolic motifs of Chinese decorative art.

In Chinese culture, bamboo symbolizes integrity, resilience, longevity and moral virtue. The absence of painted decoration deliberately emphasizes the perfection of form, proportion and glaze, reflecting the aesthetic ideals established at the Imperial Kilns of Jingdezhen during the eighteenth century, where technical excellence and subtle monochrome glazes were regarded as the highest expression of ceramic artistry.

The underside bears an underglaze-blue square Yongzheng reign mark (雍正). Such apocryphal reign marks were widely employed by Chinese kilns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as an homage to the artistic achievements of the Yongzheng Imperial period and should not be interpreted as indicating the actual date of manufacture.

Marks: Underglaze-blue square Yongzheng reign mark to the base.

Dimensions: Height: 8 cm. Diameter: 20 cm.

Condition: Good overall collector`s condition.