Lot 693. A large blue and white sleeve vase, Ming dynasty, Chongzhen period (1627-1644). Estimate 25,000 — 35,000, USD. Lot sold 56,250 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.  

of cylindrical form with a waisted neck and flared rim, well painted in varying tones of cobalt-blue depicting the famous first meeting between King Wen of Zhou, standing at a river's edge with attendants and the self-exiled military strategist Jiang Ziya living as a humble fisherman, all amidst craggy rockwork and foliage, set between a lappet band and a floral scroll, the neck with flowering lotus plants, the base unglazed. Height 17 1/8  in., 43.5 cm.

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.
Michael B. Weisbrod, Inc., New York, 1988.

Literature: Rosalind Fischell, Blue and White China: Origins/Western Influences, Boston, 1987, p. 22.