Lot 200. A blue and white carved 'phoenix-tail' vase, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 45.2cm (17 3/4in) high (2). Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 (€4,700 - 7,100). Photo: Bonhams.

Of baluster form raised on a gently spreading foot, painted with two foliate panels each enclosing a garden scene depicting a boy attendant presenting gifts to a dignitary and ladies in leisure with two boys, rising to an elegantly-flaring trumpet neck with two similar rectangular panels, all reserved on a subtle white-glazed ground carved with large peony blossoms on a dense ground of scrolling foliage, separated by geometric borders, huanghuali wood stand.

Provenance: a European private collection

Note: Blue and white 'phoenix-tail' vases moulded with a floral ground and dating to the Kangxi period are rare. Other shapes with similar dense peony grounds include beaker vases. Compare with a blue and white gu vase, Kangxi, decorated with shaped panels of landscape and domestic scenes, which sold at Sotheby's London, 12 July 2006, lot 630. A blue and white beaker vase, Kangxi, decorated with panels reserved on a moulded celadon ground sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2006, lot 286.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 11 May 2017, 11:00 BST, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET