Compare three similar examples, one sold at Christie's New York, 30th March 2005, lot 380; another illustrated in Robert H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, pl. 81A; the third in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 128B, from the author's collection.

A rare Blanc-de-Chine 'Montgolfier' vessel, late 18th-early 19th century; 9½ in. (24.1 cm.) high. Sold for 14,400 USD at Christie's New York, 30th March 2005, lot 380. © Christie's Images Ltd 2005.

Imaginatively modelled as a hot-air balloon tethered to a junk-form gondola with molded bands on the sides, the long, curved spout forming the prow of the boat while the curved handle forms the stern, with a band of conjoined circles on the flared oval foot, covered with a glaze of milk-white tone.

Provenance: Chait Galleries, New York. 

Note: A very similar vessel is illustrated by R.H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine, Berkeley/Toronto, 2002, p. 81 B. See, also, a slightly different vessel of this form illustrated by P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, New York/Washington, 1969, pl. 128 B. In discussing this piece, p. 199, the author notes that pieces of this form would have had to be made after 1783, as that was the year of the Montgolfier brothers' experiments with hot air balloons in Paris, which were repeated by Lunardi in London in 1784 and again in 1785.

A similar example was sold in our London rooms, 5 and 6 July 1984, lot 380. 

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 16 Sep 2017