FOUR CHINESE PORCELAIN ITEMS

FOUR CHINESE PORCELAIN ITEMS

19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Comprising: an iron-red and gilt-decorated bowl and cover painted with the Eight Auspicious Buddhist Emblems (Bajixiang) and lotus scrolls, with six character Chenghua marks, a famille rose 'Wu Shuang Pu' tea bowl decorated with two figures and calligraphy, the base with a four character Daoguang mark, a blue and white bowl painted with two cranes, the base with a mark reading Jiangxi Ciye Gongsi, and a bowl cover enamelled with a dragon and phoenix, with a six character Chenghua mark, 13cm max. (5)

Provenance: from the collection of Professor Ronald N Arnold (1908-1963) and thence by descent. Professor Arnold was Regius Professor of Engineering at Edinburgh University from 1947 until his death. Following ill health, in 1953 he began to collect Chinese porcelain in his free time, buying most of his pieces from small antique shops and auctioneers in Edinburgh and London. Through the art historian David Talbot-Rice, Professor Arnold became acquainted with several experts in the field of East Asian ceramics, including Sir Harry Garner and Soame Jenyns.