Lot Essay
Continuous views of the bustling Pearl Riverfront on 'Hong' bowls seem to date from about 1780, while the fence on top of the seawall that edges the courtyard, clearly visible in this example, was built in 1787. Several bowls are known, like this example, with American flags that appear to be original but that have been painted in the wrong place - perhaps added hastily to stock bowls once the American orders began to come in. See D.S. Howard. New York and the China Trade, p. 77