Lot 2366. A rare wucai hexalobed basin, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619), 14¼ in. (36.4 cm.) wide. Estimate $30,000 – $50,000. Price realised USD 30,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.

The basin is heavily potted with deep, slightly flared sides, and is decorated in the bottom of the interior with five small mythical beasts running around a qilin seated on a rustic stool in the center, below further mythical beasts amidst trees in the well. Similar beasts are shown racing in a continuous landscape on the top of the everted rim, and the underside is decorated with lingzhi scroll above rose sprays on each lobe of the exterior. The reign mark is within a recessed circle in the center of the otherwise unglazed base. 

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in the 1950-1960s.

Notes: The qilin, which can be seen seated on a rustic stool in the center of the present basin, is an auspicious symbol of longevity, fertility and wise administration, as it only appears during the reign of a benevolent ruler. It is also associated with the Confucian virtue of ren, as it is benevolent to all living creatures. When combined with a boy seated on its back, the qilin represents the bringing of illustrious sons.

A Wanli-marked wucai basin of similar shape, but decorated with designs of fish amidst aquatic plants, is illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. I, Tokyo, 1976, no. 919, and another example decorated with a fish design was sold at Sotheby's London, 15 December 1987, lot 161.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza