Lot 12. A large, rare and impressive blue and white 'phoenix' vase, meiping, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1573-1619); 22 ¾ in. (58 cm.) high. Estimate £40,000 – £60,000 ($60,560 - $90,840). Price realised GBP 146,500. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The exterior of the sturdily potted vase is boldly painted in shades of underglaze cobalt blue depicting two phoenixes in flight amidst clouds, set between a band of tall lotus lappets surrounding the base and another similar band encircling shoulder. 

Provenance: Christie's London, 15 May 2007, lot 223.
Formerly in a private collection in the UK.

Notes: Large blue and white meiping vessels from the late Ming period tend to be decorated with either phoenixes or dragons. Jessica Harrison-Hall highlights that eight blue and white meiping vases with covers were among the few porcelains discovered in the Wanli emperor's tomb, the Ding Ling (see Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 290).

See a similar vase illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 8, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 246. An example was also sold at Christie's Paris, 22 November 2006, lot 282; and another at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 2005, lot 646. 

Also compare the present lot with similar large vases painted with dragons instead of phoenixes, including one illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, The New Standard Guide, San Francisco, 1996, pl. 428 ; and one sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 2 May 1994, lot 641.

Christie's. APPRECIATING ELEGANCE: ART FROM THE SUI YUAN ZHAI COLLECTION, 11 May 2015, London, King Street