China, 1279-1644. The deep rounded sides supported on a slightly concave base, rising to a straight rim, one side set with an outward flaring spout above a small loop handle. The interior painted with a central medallion enclosing a lotus bouquet, encircled by a boldly painted scroll band framed by double-line borders, repeated to the exterior. The base partially and the rim fully left unglazed, revealing the grayish-buff ware with a smooth feel. Sturdily potted.

Provenance: From a private collection in Boston, Massachusetts. Acquired by the present owner’s mother in the United Kingdom during the 1950s, before she immigrated to the USA during the 1960s. Inherited by the last owner in the 1990s.
Condition: Very good condition with firing flaws, including the fading of the underglaze-red in some areas and the scattered green iron-oxide spots seen in the center of the interior. Minor wear, the rim with a smoothened chip near the spout and few small nicks.

Weight: 245.2 g
Dimensions: Length 15.3 cm (spout to rim)

Pouring vessels of this type, known as yi, were important items of daily life, made in silver and other metals, as well as in Longquan celadon and monochrome white, blue-and-white, underglaze-red decorated and cobalt-blue glazed porcelain.

Expert’s note: The present pouring bowl shows several attributes that virtually guarantee an age of at least 400-500 years, if not more. The misfired underglaze-red, due to which the color has faded considerably in some areas, and the scattered green iron-oxide spots seen on the lotus bouquet in the central medallion, are clear markers of an early piece, but the extremely smooth feel to the unglazed areas of the pouring bowl should not be ignored either. Finally, the elegantly swung brush strokes, of a simple yet virtuoso quality, speak for themselves.

Literature comparison: A similar underglaze-red decorated pouring vessel painted in the center with a wild goose in flight holding a reed, also surrounded by a red band with incised scrolling lines, which in that case have turned a deeper red, was excavated from the hoard of Yuan ceramics at Gao’an, and is illustrated in Gao’an Yuandai jiaocang ciqi, The Porcelain from the Cellar of the Yuan Dynasty in Gao’an, Beijing, 2006, pp. 68-9, and inside the back cover, and was also included in the Metropolitan Museum exhibition, 2010, op.cit., fig. 321.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related underglaze-red yi, dated early to mid-14^th century, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in The Meiyintang Collection, Part V - An Important Selection Of Imperial Chinese Porcelains on 07 April 2013, lot 34, bought-in at an estimate of HKD 900,000-1,200,000, and a related blue and white yi, also painted with a central medallion enclosing a lotus bouquet, dated to the Yuan dynasty, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in Important Chinese Art on 6 November 2019, lot 137, sold for GBP 50,000.

元明時期罕見釉裏紅匜
中國，1279-1644年。圓腹，口微歛，平底。沿有流，形呈長方，與腹相連，下有小圓繫。器心飾束蓮紋，蓮花、蓮蓬、茨菰等水草用束帶束上。白地釉色泛青，繪飾殷紅略紫。口沿、器底無釉露胎。

來源：馬賽諸塞州波斯頓私人收藏。藏家的母親於上世紀五十年代購於英國，後來她於上世紀六十年代移民去了美國，最後一位持有人於上世紀九十年代繼承了此拍品。
品相：品相極好，燒製瑕疵，部分釉裏紅褪色，內部中央有散落的綠色氧化鐵斑點。 輕微磨損，流附近的邊緣有一個平滑的缺口，並且有少量小刻痕。

重量：245.2 克
尺寸：長15.3 厘米 (流至邊沿)

專家注釋：這個碗顯示了幾個特徵，幾乎可以證明它已有 400-500 年的歷史，如果不是更久遠的話。 有燒製瑕疵的釉里紅，部分地方褪色明顯，中間的束蓮上散落的綠色氧化鐵斑點，明顯是早期作品的特徵，但手感極其光滑。碗的露胎部位也不應被忽視。最後，細膩的筆觸，簡單而精湛的品質，不言而喻。

拍賣結果比較：比較一件十四世紀中葉釉裏紅匜見香港蘇富比The Meiyintang Collection, Part V - An Important Selection Of Imperial Chinese Porcelains 2013年4月7日 lot 34, 估價 HKD 900,000-1,200,000；一件元代青花蓮紋匜見香港蘇富比Important Chinese Art 2019年11月 6日 lot 137, 售價GBP 50,000。