Rare Ming royal stem bowl to feature at Christie's auction

A 15th-century qinghua (blue-and-white) stem bowl that was meant for the sacrificial rituals of Chinese emperors will go under the hammer at Christie's sale in Hong Kong on Nov 30.

The bowl from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) features two five-clawed dragons - symbol of imperial power. One dragon charges ahead and the other looks back, above cresting waves and mountains.

The bowl's inside features a six-character mark in the center circled by double rings - which indicates that it was "produced in the reign of Xuande (1426-35)", the title of Emperor Zhu Zhanji during whose reign the production of blue-and-white ware reached its peak.