Lot 296. A large blue and white jar, Jiajing mark and period. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the slightly compressed globular body surmounted by a short neck with a lipped rim, painted in vibrant tones of cobalt-blue on the exterior with four shaped panels each enclosing scholars and attendants in a landscape, all between a band of leafy flower scrolls encircling the shoulder and upright lappets around the foot, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark. Height 12 7/8  in., 32.8 cm

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 31st March 1992, lot 540.

Notes: For a very similar example in the Tianminlou collection, see Chinese Porcelain, the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 36; another with a cover in the Hakone Art Museum, is illustrated in the revised Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 73. Compare three further examples sold at auction, one in these rooms, 23rd March 2004, lot 639; another in our London rooms, 12th June 2003, lot 145; and the third with the neck reduced sold in these rooms, 19th September 2002, lot 113.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 Mar 2016, 10:00 AM