Lot 272. A fine blue and white sleeve vase, Ming dynasty, Chongzhen period (1628-1644). Height 17 3/4  in., 45 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

the cylindrical body rising to gently curved shoulders surmounted by a waisted neck, painted to the exterior with aspiring scholars and attendants offering prayers to the god of literature Wenchang accompanied by an attendant, with constellations nearby, the neck encircled by upright plantain leaves, the base unglazed.

Provenance: A.J.B. Kiddell (1894-1980) a former director of Sotheby's London, and thence by descent. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Works of Art, New York, 17 march 2015, 02:00 PM