Lot 181. A rare blue and white ewer, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424). H. 30 cm. Estimate 40.000/60.000 €. Lot sold 56.000 €. Courtesy Nagel

The pear-shaped body ends in an out-turned rim. The long spout with a curved tip is additionally attached to the body by a cloud-shaped strut. The broad and elegantly curved handle has a small loop at the top intended for the attachment of a cover. The body is painted in rich cobalt-blue with peony scrolls around the neck and body. The spout is covered in daylilies and the upper neck is painted with plantain leaves. Restored breaks

Provenance: Property from an important European private collection.

Note: During the Yongle period, these ewers were made in the imperial porcelain factory at Jingdezhen. Compare with an almost identical ewer in the British Museum, see Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, 3:16.

Porcelain ewer decorated in underglaze blue, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424). Height: 29.2 cm. Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, Franks.151. © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum. 

Another one can be found in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Shogakukan, vol. 14, p. 163, no. 143. Similar ewers with slightly different decor can be seen in J. Ayers and R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, 1986, vol. 2, no. 619, and in T. Mitsugi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East, Hong Kong, vol. 3, no. A80, illustrating that such ewers were also exported at the time.