China, 1723-1735. Elegantly potted with deep rounded sides supported on a short straight foot, finely enameled to the exterior in deep ruby-pink, the interior neatly painted with a central peony sprig, the base and interior covered in a transparent glaze.

Provenance: From a distinguished gallery in central London, United Kingdom.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear and manufacturing flaws including dark spots. Two short hairlines and a small nibble to the upper rim.

Weight: 64 g
Dimensions: Diameter 7.9 cm

Most scholars believe that pink enamel seems first to have appeared in the Chinese palette at the end of the Kangxi reign, in about AD 1720. Microscopic examination of this pink enamel has shown red particles immersed in a clear lead-potassium-silicate glass. The rose color was due to minute colloidal particles of gold. The Chinese rose enamel appears different from the European equivalent - the so-called 'Purple of Cassius', developed by Andreas Cassius of Leyden in c. 1670, for that it does not appear to have been made by the same method. The Chinese enamel has a much lower tin content and the scientists concluded that it was made not by precipitation but by making up a ruby glass and grinding this as a pigment to be dispersed in the clear enamel. The advantage of the Chinese method was that it used less gold, and it was also easier to achieve an even coloration within the enamel.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's New York, 25 March 2022, lot 1139
Price: USD 52,920 or approx. EUR 51,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A famille rose ruby-back teabowl and saucer, Yongzheng period (1723-1735)
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and size (7.6 cm), with similar ruby enamel and floral motif in famille rose to the interior. Note the lot also includes a saucer.