The bowl is a direct copy of a 15th century Chenghua original. It is painted with an hibiscus scroll with interlaced meandering stems and five-bladed leaves on the exterior. The interior has a floral medallion in the centre. The underside of the base has a Chenghua six-character mark in blue within a double circle.

The design is a very exact copy of the original “palace” bowl, but the actual porcelain is typical of the early 18th century. Fourteen different “palace” bowl designs are recorded from the Chenghua period. The words “palace bowl” do not necessarily mean a particular imperial provenance, but were coined, probably by A.D. Brankston, to describe this particular group. Like the moon flask (Ch58), this was catalogued as Chenghua in the Wu Lai-hsi sale.

Literature: Anthony du Boulay, The Duberly Collection of Chinese Art at Winchester College (Winchester, 2019), p. 64

Provenance: Bequeathed as part of the Duberly Collection, 1978; purchased by Major Montagu and Lady Eileen Duberly from John Sparks, 23 February 1961 (£78); formerly in the collection of John F. Woodthorpe, sold Sotheby’s, London, 21 February 1961, lot 158; the collection of H.R.N. Norton and the collection of Wu Lai-hsi, sold Sotheby’s, London, 26 May 1937, lot 27

Location: Treasury, Gallery 2