A tall, impressive qingbai carved meiping vase, China, probably Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Photo Nagel Auktionen

The tall and heavy meiping bottle its short cylindrical neck and almost flat flange at the rim has a generously potted oviform body and a straight foot recessed within. The body is boldly carved under a pale bluish glaze firing, with a stronger tone in the deeper areas, featuring six large full-blown peony heads in an elaborate, dense, leafy meander in two registers, five heads hanging down from broadly-looped stalks and the sixth carved in sideways profile. The glaze is evenly pale and lustrous but with a few white edges below the glaze on the areas of high relief. Apart frm a small overglazed kiln flaw at the centre of one side, the fritted rim and some small chips at the unglazed foot rim, in good condition. h.: 33,7 cm, diam. (shoulder): c. 19 cm. Estimate 40000/60000 €

Provenance: Private collection Rhineland, Germany, acquired at Christie's, London, 14. - 16. Dec. 1983, lot 272, and with further references of similar meiping bottles illustrated in: Kodansha Series, vol. 1, Tokyo National Museum, pl. 12; vol. 10, Museum of Fine Art, Boston, pl. 115, a smaller example is illustrated in Kodansha Series, vol. 5, British Museum, London, pl. 70

Nagel Auktionen. 2013/05/08. http://www.auction.de/