A rare famille rose 'Pompadour'-pattern pot-pourri jar and cover. Qianlong period, circa 1745

Of squat pear shape with slightly waisted flaring upper section pierced with four apertures and gently rounded body, surmounted by a shallow domed cover pierced witgh a further eight apertures, the squat finial painted with iron-red overlapping petals and pierced with a larger aperture at the top, brightly enamelled en suite to lot 186. 7 3/8 in. (18.5 cm.) high. Est. £10,000 - £15,000 - Price realised £20,000

Provenance: Sambon-Warneck Collections; Maurice Rheims, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1 June 1956, lot 232 (part).
Louis de Chollet Collection, Paris.

Literature: M. Beurdeley, Porcelain of the East India Companies, London, 1962, cat. 190, p. 194.

Notes: Pot pourri jars of this particular shape appear to be exceptionally rare. A pair of pear-shaped 'Pompadour'-pattern pot-pourri jars and covers, but with unusual pale celadon grounds, was sold Sotheby's London, 8 November 1994, lot 274 (together with a selection of other pieces of this pattern as lots 254-274).

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art including Export Art. 12 May 2009. London, King Street www.christies.com