Lot Essay
The Tihedian (Hall of Manifest Harmony) was one of the six palaces in the northwestern sector of the Forbidden City where the Empress Dowager Cixi lived during much of her tenure as Regent to her son, Emperor Tongzhi. Special porcelains such as the present example, were designed and produced for several of these palaces.
Compare to a turquoise-ground grisaille-decorated fishbowl in the Chuxiugong (Palace of Concentrated Beauty), Beijing, illustrated in The Forbidden City, The Forbidden City Publishing House, Beijing, 1988; and a massive pair of yellow-ground Tihedian-marked fishbowls sold at Christie's New York, 29 November 1984, lot 577.
Compare to a turquoise-ground grisaille-decorated fishbowl in the Chuxiugong (Palace of Concentrated Beauty), Beijing, illustrated in The Forbidden City, The Forbidden City Publishing House, Beijing, 1988; and a massive pair of yellow-ground Tihedian-marked fishbowls sold at Christie's New York, 29 November 1984, lot 577.