Lot 2933. A blue and white 'Conch' water-dropper, Ming dynasty, mid-15th century; 12.7 cm., 5 in. Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 727,500 HKD  (59,105 EUR) (93,404 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's 2008.

the water vessel moulded as a conch supported on a splayed foot, set to one side with a short spout in the form of a leaping fish, and to the other a handle in the form of the endless knot , the conch decorated with a band of beads suspending further beaded tassels around the sides, the short neck embellished by the wheel of law below the cylindrical mouth   .

Provenance: Collection of Edward T. Chow.

Note: The present piece is the prototype for later water-droppers of the same form and design.  See a Yongzheng example with an apocryphal Xuande mark, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze-red, vol. III, Beijing, 2000, pl. 87. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 11 Apr 2008