Lot 3163. A blue and white 'Hundred Boys' jar. Mark and period of Wanli. Estimation 500,000-800,000 HKD.  Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

robustly potted, painted overall in inky tones with boys at play in a continuous garden landscape, some playing with toys and props and while others horse around, all amongst pierced rocks and trees, and below a row of ruyi clouds at the sloping shoulders, the short lipped mouth collared by a ruyi border, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a sixcharacter reign mark within double circles, stand; 30.5 cm., 12 in. 

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th November 1996, lot 751.

NOTE DE CATALOGUE: The playful subject of one hundred boys (baizi) dates back to the Song dynasty (960-1279) and the depiction of children engaged in games and outdoor activities is symbolic of longevity, prosperity and well-being, as well as the embodiment of adult aspirations. A popular subject during the Ming period, it was employed on an array of porcelain vessels, including boxes, dishes, bowls and jars.

Closely related examples include one sold in these rooms, 15th November 1988, lot 133; another sold in our New York rooms, 3rd June 1987, lot 243; and a third example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th May 2008, lot 1853, and included in the exhibition The Flame of Fire. Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli Periods, Art Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2009, cat. no. 59, from the collection of Dr Michael L. Yuen. For a Jiajing marked example, see one in the Shanghai Museum, published in Lu Minghua, Mingdai Guanyao Ciqi, Shanghai, 2007, pl. 3-82; another illustrated in Masahiko Sato, Chinese Ceramics. A Short History, Tokyo, 1981, pl.254; and a third example sold at Christie's London, 25th November 1974, lot 235

 Sotheby's.. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. Hong Kong | 04 avr. 2012 www.sothebys.com