A very rare blue and white vase, meiping, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century. Estimate £40,000 – £60,000 ($61,560 - $92,340). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The exterior of the elegantly potted vase is painted in 'windswept' style, depicting two figural scenes in garden settings with pavilions, separated by stylized scrolling clouds. One scene features two scholars engaged in conversation, while the other scene shows a young boy attendant holding a qin and accompanying another scholar. The shoulder is decorated with plantain leaves, with a band of lappets surrounding the foot. 9 7/8 in. (25 cm.) high

Notes:  Mid-Ming period meiping vases decorated with this type of figural scene are rare. A Chenghua period (1465-1487) example is in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, Kodansha Series, Tokyo, 1982, vol. 9, fig. 107. The current vase is also very similar in style and decoration to a blue and white meiping dated to the Chenghua period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 31 October 1994, lot 553. Furthermore, see a related Ming blue and white meiping, dated to the late 15th-early 16th century, sold at Sotheby's London, 13 December 1988, lot 152.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART, 10 November 2015, London, King Street