A rare blue and white vase, yuhuchunping. Xuande (1425-1435)

A rare blue and white vase, yuhuchunping. Xuande (1425-1435) © 2002-2010 Bonhams 1793 Ltd

The pear-shaped vase with a bulbous body rising to the waisted neck and flared rim, supported on a slightly-spreading foot, naturalistically painted in shades of darker and lighter purplish cobalt blue showing the typical 'heaping and piling' with an undulating composite floral scroll with large chrysanthemum, peony, lotus and camellia blossoms, the lobed leaves with cross-hatched veins, all between the shoulders with a tri-lobed leafy scroll and a register of overlapping ruyi-heads above the foot, the neck with upright ruyi-heads enclosing lotus, lingzhi, blackberry lily and chrysanthemum above a key-fret border; 26.7cm (10½in) high - Estimate: £100,000 - 150,000, HKD 1,200,000 - 1,800,000, USD 160,000 - 240,000. This lot has been withdrawn


Provenance: a European private collection

The decoration on the present vase is very rare. Two comparable vases of similar proportions and design have been published: the first from the Qing Court Collection, attributed to the Xuande period, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, pl.86; and the second, from the Ardebil Shrine, Tehran, but now in the Archaeological Museum, attributed to the early 15th century, is illustrated by J.A.Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981, pl.29.448.

Compare a similar blue and white yuhuchunping, attributed to the Yongle period, sold at Council, Beijing, on 22 April 2006.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 11 Nov 2010. New Bond Street  www.bonhams.com