11 cm.（4 3/8 in.）diam.

Provenance：
Ernest Grandidier Collection，by repute
Gerard Levy Collection，France
An English private collection

A Rare and Finely Carved Imperial Two-colour Lacquer Bowl
The poem on the present bowl is recorded in Qing gaozong yuzhi shiwen quanji（Anthology of imperial Qianlong poems and prose），Yuzhi shiwen chuji（Imperial poems，vol. 1），juan 36，p. 17. A translation by C. F. Shangraw is published in ‘Chinese Lacquers in Asian Art Museum of San Francisco’，Orientations，April 1986，p. 41：
Plum blossoms appear too chastened，Buddha hand citron too fragrant pine nut kernels carry the taste of richness and rarity，tea like these three would be out of the ordinary.
The water for tea is simply boiled in a broken-legged pot，so thoroughly that its heat could penetrate through a basket of snow.
Flames shaped like fish and crabs show the strength of the fire as the smoke of the stove appears and disappears in turn.
The Tea like ‘fairy’s milk’ is poured into a Yuezhou tea bowl，here in my studio，just as I am taking an interest in Buddhist thoughts.
The principles of the ‘five yun’ refer primarily to purity，（like tea）for they defy exposition，but can be readily understood.
The pure，naturally aromatic tea is passed around with hands as soft as a cotton ball.
This tea would be a suitable drink for the immortal Wu Chuan and would certainly be appreciate by Lin Pu.
But I am too lazy to have tea sipping parties like a Zhao Zhu and I cannot help but laugh at the artfulness of a Yu Chuan.
I listen to the sound of the water clock In the still cold night，I look out，gazing at the crescent moon in the sky.
After drinking some wine and tea at my small table，I feel so elated I seek apt verses to express my thoughts.
Composed binyin year（corresponding to 1746）36th birthday sipping tea in his studio on a cold winter day love of tea virtues of tea making.
As the poem suggests，it was composed by the Qianlong Emperor on a winter’s day on the occasion of his 36th birthday while enjoying his tea contemplating on the virtues of tea making and his love of tea. Following the composition of the poem，he would award ‘Three Purities Tea’ bowls inscribed with the poem to the guest who composed the best poem at an annual tea drinking banquet held in the Chonghua Gong.
An unpublished example with the same poem is in the Palace Museum Collection，Beijing. A pair in the Tianjin Municipal Art Museum is illustrated in Zhongguo qiqi quanji，vol. 6，Fuzhou，1993，pl. 211；another in the Victoria and Albert Museum，is illustrated by Garner，Chinese Lacquer，London，1979，pl. 93. Another pair of very similar but more compressed bowls，with a band of key-pattern scroll around the foot，is in the Asian Art Museum，San Francisco，illustrated in Hai-Wai Yi-Chen（Chinese Art in Overseas Collections），‘Lacquerware’，Taipei，1987，no. 171. Compare，also，an example in the Museum Fur Lackkunst，Munster，Germany.
Examples sold at auction include a bowl of the same decoration from the Hosokawa Family Collection sold at Christie’s Hong Kong，2nd December 2015，lot 3163；a pair sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong，1st May 2001，lot 678 and again 8 April 2010，lot 1841；an example was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong 27th April 2003，lot 678；another at Sotheby’s Hong Kong，9 October 2007，lot 1644；and an example with the interior gilt sold at Poly Auction Hong Kong，5 December 2012.
Bowls inscribed with this poem were also produced in other media. Compare a blue and white bowl illustrated in Qing Mark and Period Blue and White，S. Marchant & Son，London，1984，no. 26 and another included in the Special exhibition of K’ang-hsi，Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum，National Palace Museum，Taipei，1986，cat. no. 142.
Iron-red-decorated examples include one in the Palace Museum Collection，Beijing，exhibited in The Life of Qianlong，Macao Museum of Art，Macao，2002，cat. no. 79；another in the National Palace Museum，Taipei，included in the exhibition Emperor Qianlong’s Grand Cultural Enterprise，Taipei，2002，cat. no. 51；and a third sold at Sotheby’s Paris，23rd June 2016，lot 96.
Two Spinach jade examples inscribed with the same poem have been sold at auction including one first sold at Christie’s New York，6th June 1985，lot 375，again at Sotheby’s Hong Kong，2nd May 2000，lot 585，and most recently at Christie’s Hong Kong，30th November 2011，lot 2964；and another example first sold at Sotheby’s New York，26th February 1982，lot 471，and again at Sotheby’s Hong Kong，8th April 2013，lot 3009.
A white jade example with a cover was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong，29th November 2005，lot 1648；and another white jade bowl at Sotheby’s Hong Kong，2nd May 2005，lot 526
An unpublished blue Canton enamel example is in the British Museum，acquisition no. 1969，1107.1.a-b
All the above examples are cups but the poem was also used on a famille rose teapot sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong，5th April 2017，lot 3628

Price estimate:
HKD: 800,000 - 1,200,000
USD: 103,400 - 155,100

Auction Result:
HKD: --