A blue and white bottle vase. Qianlong seal mark and of the period

The tapering cylindrical body rising from a short foot to a high tubular neck, moulded with ten gently lobed vertical panels painted with alternating blooms of peony and camellia on long leafy stems, enclosed above and below by borders of leafy scroll, the canted shoulder with a band of lappets below a formal scroll, the neck painted with three peony stems (minor restoration to rim). 31.4cm (12¼in) high. - Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000

Footnote: Compare a similar blue and white bottle vase, illustrated by Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1975, pl.159. Also see a further example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Blue and White Wares of Ch'ing Dynasty, Book II, Hong Kong, 1967, pl.4.

The shape of this vessel is derived from 13th century Islamic metal vessels and they were first translated by Chinese potters during the 15th century.

For a blue and white ewer dated to the early 15th century, which is of the exact shape but with the addition of a spout and handle, see Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, A Complete Catalogue II, Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelains, London, 1986, p.521, pl.622.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 6 Nov 2008. New Bond Street - www.bonhams.com

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