YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

The present bowl is finely decorated with stylized honeysuckle scrolls. Known in Chinese as rendong 忍冬, honeysuckle is a climbing plant also referred to as jinyinhua 金銀花. Its Chinese name, literally meaning “enduring winter,” derives from the plant’s ability to remain verdant through the cold season. For this reason, the motif came to symbolize resilience, the imperishability of the soul, and the Buddhist notion of cyclic rebirth and eternal life.

The honeysuckle scroll was among the popular decorative motifs in early Buddhist art, appearing as early as the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties in cave-temple decoration. It was subsequently adapted to other media, including imperial porcelain, where its original Buddhist associations were transformed into auspicious wishes for longevity, blessings, and enduring prosperity. Two closely related Yongzheng-marked bowls of similar size and decorated with the same 'honeysuckle' design, are in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, accession nos. 故瓷007750N000000000 and 故瓷007751N000000000. A further pair of Yongzheng honeysuckle bowls, formerly in the collection of Thomas R. Vaughan (1908–1979), was sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 2025, lot 1053.