Roseberys presents 1,000 Years of 100 Boys in Chinese Art: The Feng-Chun Ma Collection, Offered without Reserve, a landmark single-owner sale showcasing a collection that spans one thousand years of Chinese art history. This will be the first time the collection is presented at auction.
The collection has been assembled by Feng-Chun Ma, a distinguished scholar-collector who has worked in the East Asian antiques trade for over four decades.
 |
|
Feng-Chun Ma and Roseberys’ Asian Art department at the International Antiques Fair, Hong Kong (IAF) |
"Collecting these hundred boys over the past several years has been a journey of aesthetic discovery, demonstrating the richness and variety of Chinese art. Beyond their beauty and craftsmanship, they capture a sense of joy and aspiration that has endured for thousands of years. I hope they will continue to bring pleasure, curiosity and inspiration to those who care for them next," said Feng-Chun Ma.
“This collection exemplifies the exquisite craftsmanship, symbolic depth and refined aesthetics that define Chinese art across the centuries. It is a once in a generation assembly of objets d’art, reflecting Feng-Chun Ma’s discerning eye and exceptional scholarship as a collector. We are honoured to present it to the open market for the very first time," said Bill Forrest, Director and Head of Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art at Roseberys.
About Feng-Chun Ma
 |
|
Feng-Chun Ma at Roseberys' IAF Exhibition |
Born in the Netherlands to Chinese parents, Feng-Chun Ma inherited a scholarly and artistic legacy. Her father, Ma Wen-Shan (1906–1979), was a pioneer in promoting Chinese culture in Europe and served as founding chairman of the General Chinese Society in the Netherlands. Her mother, Liu Shu-Zhen, came from a literati family and, unusually for women of her generation, received a formal education.
From this foundation, Ma cultivated a lifelong dedication to Chinese art. Her career began in 1984 at Christie’s Amsterdam and she went on to head the East Asian department at Sotheby’s Amsterdam for fourteen years before founding her own company, Feng-Chun Ma Chinese & Japanese Art, in 2003.
The Collection: A Thousand Years, A Hundred Boys
The collection comprises 102 objets d’art related to the Chinese motif of “boys at play” (yingxitu), symbolising the auspicious wish for many sons and the continuation of family lineage. Objects span from early Song dynasty ceramics to Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain, jade carvings, bronzes, snuff bottles and textiles.
Feng-Chun Ma’s collection of ‘boys’ began with the chance discovery of an ivory carving of the goddess Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of infinite compassion and ‘the bringer of sons’, sitting with a boy on her lap. This rare, possibly unique, purchase led her to seek out further examples of ‘boys at play.’ She was attracted to the lively and playful character of the happy boys depicted, as well as their embodiment of adult aspirations and concerns, surrounding longevity, prosperity and status.
The “boys at play” motif draws from Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions. Its origins lie in Buddhist iconography, where the Buddha’s birth from the calyx of a lotus flower inspired the enduring image of a boy holding a lotus. By the Tang dynasty, depictions of children entered secular contexts, flourishing during the Song dynasty in Su Hanchen’s celebrated paintings of idealised children at play. From the Yongle reign (1402–1424) onwards, this crystallised into the “hundred boys” theme (baizitu), recalling the Zhou dynasty story of King Wu, who fathered ninety-nine sons and adopted one more to make a hundred.
Beyond auspicious fertility symbolism, many depictions show boys engaged in the “Four Scholarly Arts” - music, chess, calligraphy/painting, and reading - underscoring the Confucian ideal of filial piety and the aspiration for sons to achieve success and bring honour to their families.
Collection Highlights
 |
|
Lot 38: A fine inscribed famille-rose 'three star gods' stem cup Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period |
The star lot of the collection is an inscribed famille-rose ‘three star gods’ deep cup from the Yongzheng period, estimated at £18,000-£25,000. Although the Yongzheng emperor’s reign was short, the period saw aesthetic advances, particularly in the production of porcelain in the imperial kilns. The emperor would comment directly on the quality of new creations and issue directives.
A palace record, dated the seventh month of the first year of the Yongzheng reign (1723), notes: "Prince Yi presented a wine cup enamelled with Three Star Gods, Fu, Lu and Shou." The Yongzheng Emperor subsequently issued an imperial instruction: "Replace the Three Star Gods with other figures. The shading should be more refined. Submit a painted design for inspection and, upon approval, proceed with firing." This archival entry may be relevant to the present lot.
The cup depicts the Daoist Three Star Gods on one side, Fu Xing, Lu Xing and Shou Xing (collectively known as Fulushou), below an Osmanthus tree, holding up a boy, who is reaching for a peach with one hand and grasping a branch with the other. The scene is enclosed by an iron red ‘hundred bats’ border. The reverse is inscribed with the poem 'Tian Shang San Tai Chong, Ren Jian Yi Pin Zun (天上三台重, 人間一品尊)'.
The three gods are often depicted accompanied by a boy and a peach of immortality. They represent fortune, prosperity and longevity. Bats in Chinese visual culture are a symbol of joy as the word for bat (fu) is a homonym of happiness.
 |
|
Porcelain figures, often enamelled in the famille rose palette and depicting boys, were a popular subject for the export market during the Qianlong period. The peculiarity of the present figure is that its hollow construction allows for water poured through the hole at the top of the head to flow through his body as if he were urinating.
 |
|
Lot 46: A Chinese blue and white 'sixteen boys‘ bowl, Qing dynasty, Daoguang mark and period |
This Daoguang mark and period bowl depicts sixteen boys at play in a fenced garden with the young toddlers dressed in traditional open-backed apron, dudou (肚兜) and seated around a 'winding stream' table. The older group are wearing jackets and playing musical instruments.
The blue and white motif depicting sixteen boys at play, first introduced during the Yongle reign, remained a popular design throughout the Ming dynasty and saw a revival in the mid-Qing period.
Exhibition & Auction
The collection will be exhibited at Bowman Sculpture Gallery in St James’s on November 1-2, during Asian Art in London 2025, before being offered at auction as part of Roseberys’ November series of Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art sales on Tuesday 4 November 2025. The collection is offered at no reserve.
The auction follows the collection’s debut at the Hong Kong International Art Fair in May 2025.
Newsletter Signup
Newsletter
