Ming Dynasty blue and white @ Christie's Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 16 - 17 September 2010, New York

A rare large blue and white 'shou-character' jar. Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619). photo Christie's Ltd 2010 

The heavily potted, high-shouldered body decorated with a pattern of shou roundels reserved on a ground of dense lotus scroll with small flowers and scrolling tendrils, above a band of linked ruyi heads at the base, the short neck encircled by an unusual pattern of conjoined lotus buds, the reign mark within a recessed roundel in the center of the base; 18 9/16 in. (47.2 cm.) high - Estimate $120,000 - $150,000

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Notes: Several Wanli-marked jars of this type are known. One with its original cover was excavated in the Dongsheng district in Beijing in 1971, and is published in Wenwu, 1972:6, and illustrated on the inside back cover, fig. 3. See, also, the jar with short neck and more tightly painted shou characters, with a very loosely linked ruyi-head border at the base, in the Ardebil Shrine Collection, illustrated by T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East: Topkapi and Ardebil, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 207, A.117. Another Wanli-marked jar of this type, in the collection of the Museum Pusat, Jakarta, is illustrated by Abu Ridho in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 3, Tokyo, 1982, no. 226.

For a Jiajing-marked example of this type, with its original cover, in the Qing Court Collection, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 35 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 115, no. 105. See, also, the similar jar sold in these rooms, 15 September 2009, lot 351.

A rare massive blue and white beaker vase. Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a line and of the period (1573-1619). photo Christie's Ltd 2010 

Painted around the upper body with alternating baskets and bowls containing flowers arranged as if in a landscape, above insects in flight amidst flowering plants on the lower body, with a decorative band of floral scroll at the foot, the tall neck encircled by a wide bow-string band separating a band of composite floral scroll and a band of upright leaves, the upright rim painted with a band of classic scroll interrupted by the reign mark written in a rectangular panel; 27 15/16 in. (71 cm.) high, box  - Estimate $80,000 - $120,000

Provenance: Japanese private collection.

Notes: The design on the present vase is very rare, and no other similar blue and white examples appear to have been published. However, a Wanli-marked wucai vase of slightly smaller size (68.5 cm.) is illustrated by A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, Oxford, 1984, p. 170, pl. 1. Another wucai example in the Matsuoka Art Museum, Japan, is illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Japan, 1976, pl. 916. See, also, the very similar wucai vase sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29 April 2002, lot 618.

An unusual blue and white square bowl. Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566). photo Christie's Ltd 2010 

The thickly potted, flared sides rising to a slightly everted rim, painted on each side of the exterior with a lively five-clawed dragon leaping amidst lingzhi fungus, all within double-line borders, the interior with a shou character in a double square in the center below a band of classic scroll at the rim; 6 5/8 in. (16.7 cm.) diam. - Estimate $30,000 - $50,000

Notes: A Jiajing period bowl of similar shape, with similar decoration in underglaze blue, reserved on a yellow ground, is illustrated in The 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1981, p. 197, no. 811. An aubergine, green and yellow-decorated example is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain: The S. C. Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, Part I, p. 118, no. 70, where it is noted that square bowls of this type were popular during the Jiajing period, but their popularity declined after the Wanli period.

A rare small blue and white jar. Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1522-1566). photo Christie's Ltd 2010 

Well painted with scholars in a terraced landscape participating in three of the 'Four Arts of the Scholar', including practicing calligraphy, playing the qin and playing weiqi, all between borders of stylized leafy scroll; 5 in. (12.7 cm.) high - Estimate $18,000 - $25,000

Provenance: Christie's, New York, 30 November 1983, lot 83.

An unusual large blue and white deep bowl. Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619). photo Christie's Ltd 2010 

Heavily potted with deep rounded sides, painted on the exterior with four characters, fu shou kang ning, formed by the twisted trunks of a pine tree, a prunus tree, a chrysanthemum stem and bamboo, all growing amidst tufts of grass and between double line borders; 11 13/16 in. (29.9 cm.) diam. - Estimate $15,000 - $20,000

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 1970.

Notes: The characters, fu shou kang ning, are a birthday wish for happiness, long life, good health and peace.
Compare the similarly decorated bowl of this deep rounded shape, also with Wanli mark, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 35 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 229, no. 209.

An unusual blue and white dish. Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century. photo Christie's Ltd 2010 

With shallow sides rising to the slightly everted rim, painted in the center in dark tones of inky blue with a mythical beast supporting on its back a tall canopy from which hangs four long banners, flanked by two figures, one holding a sword and the other a dish containing an offering, the cavetto painted with a floral scroll, the exterior with four auspicious tasseled emblems separated by canopies and banners with pendent lanterns, the base with four-character mark, Da Ming Nian Zhi within a double circle
8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box - Estimate $10,000 - $15,000

Provenance: The Yousaian Collection, Japan.

Notes: A Wanli dish with similar decoration is illustrated in Mei sei no Bijutsu (Arts of the Ming and Qing Dynasties), Tokyo, 1981, p. 28, pl. 105.

A blue and white double-gourd-form vase. 17th century. photo Christie's Ltd 2010   

Painted around the bulbous lower section with shaped reserves of flowers and rockwork between tassled auspicious emblems, the narrow waist encircled by a border of simplified leafy floral scrolls, and the upper bulb painted with alternating reserves of peaches and floral sprays and tripod incense burners atop tall corner-leg stands, with a band of upright lappets on the tapered neck; 12 7/8 in. (32.7 cm.) high, cover, box - Estimate $8,000 - $12,000

A rare small blue and white cylindrical tripod censer. Ming dynasty, circa 1450. photo Christie's Ltd 2010 

Of cylindrical form, raised on three short feet painted with classic scrolls, decorated around the exterior with scholars in a landscape setting with a thatched-roof hut in the distance, all beneath wispy clouds and a continuous border of ruyi heads at the rim; 3½ in. (8.8 cm.) high - Estimate $6,000 - $8,000

A blue and white 'dragon and phoenix' bowl. Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle. photo Christie's Ltd 2010   

With steep sides, painted in the interior with a roundel of a striding five-clawed dragon and phoenix in flight amidst leafy lotus and floral scrolls, the exterior painted in similar fashion within double-line borders beneath the rounded rim and above the unglazed foot encircling the countersunk base: 5 7/16 in. (13.8 cm.) diam., box - Estimate $6,000 - $8,000

Provenance: Joe Yuey, San Francisco.
Bluett, London

Christie's Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 16 - 17 September 2010, New York www.christies.com