Lot 915. A peachbloom-glazed beehive-form water pot, taibai zun, Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1662-1722). Estimate USD 200,000 - USD 300,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The domed body is incised with three dragon roundels and covered with a glaze of soft crushed-strawberry red tone which shades to a pale greenish-beige on one side and around the neck, in contrast to the white rim. 5 in. (12.7 cm.) diam. 

Provenance: Mary Stillman Harkness (1874-1952) Collection.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accessioned in 1950.

Notes: Water pots of this form are known as taibai zun, after the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, who is often depicted leaning against a large wine jar of similar form. They are also known as jizhao zunbecause their shape resembles basketware chicken coops that are woven with small openings at the top through which the chicks are fed.

Compare the Kangxi peachbloom water pot, formerly in the collections of Emily Trevor and John B. Trevor, Jr., sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28 May 2014, lot 3301.

Christie's. Collected in America: Chinese Ceramics from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 15 September 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza