Lot 506. A Ming-style blue and white ewer and cover, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795), 29.5 cm., 11 5/8 in. Estimate 600,000 — 800,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,800,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

of finely potted pear-shape, set to one side with an elegant curved spout secured to the body by a strut, and to the other a broad strap handle surmounted by an eyelet and applied at the lowest point with three moulded bosses simulating pegs, painted in vivid tones of underglaze-blue with simulated 'heaping and piling', each side with a large quatrefoil panel, one enclosing a fruiting peach spray with leafy branches, the other a fruiting loquat, the panels flanked by the 'Flowers of the Four Seasons', comprising rose, peony, chrysanthemum and camellia, all above a band of lappets and a classic scroll on the short foot, the neck with a broad lotus scroll band below overlapping plantain leaves, the original cover with a further lotus scroll around the eyelet knop. Quantity: 2.

Provenance: Acquired in France.

Note: Blue-and-white vessels based on early Ming shapes and using early Ming motifs, such as this ewer, belong to the classic repertoire of the imperial Jingdezhen kilns during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods.

A ewer of this pattern with a Qianlong seal mark is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. III, London, 1986, pl. 2565 and col. pl. P. 920; one in the Musee Guimet, Paris, is published in The World's Great Collections, Oriental Ceramics, vol. 7, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 178; and another is included in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 59.

Aiguière à décor de fleurs de feuilles et de fruits, Chine, Jiangxi, Jingdezhen, Dynastie Qing, période Qianlong (1736-1795). Porcelaine Bleu et blanc. H. : 26 cm ; D. max. : 15 cm ; D. base : 10 cm, D. ouverture : 6 cm, Collection Ernest Grandidier, G 2687, Musée National des Arts Asisatiques-Guimet. Photo © Réunion des musées nationaux