Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018
A rare slip-decorated brown-glazed vase, Ming dynasty, 16th-early 17th century
Lot 1326. A rare slip-decorated brown-glazed vase, Ming dynasty, 16th-early 17th century; 10 ¾ in. (27.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. Price realised USD 8,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018.
The pear-shaped vase is decorated in white slip on an amber-brown ground with two flower-pots of leafy, blossoming peonies growing amidst rockwork, below a band of ruyi-heads suspending jewels around the mouth, Japanese wood box.
Note: A slip-decorated brown-glazed vase decorated with basins filled with rocks and large peonies, but with garlic-bulb-shaped mouth, in The British Museum, is illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, p. 348, no. 11:190, where it is dated Ming dynasty, c. 1573-1620. The author notes that this combination of toffee-brown ground with contrasting white decoration was first introduced in the Wanli period, and that shards of this type dating to the late Ming era have been excavated at Zhushan in Jingdezhen.