Lot 363. A fine and rare blue and white hu-form vase, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period (1662-1722). Height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate: US$60,000 - US$80,000. Lot Sold 62,500 US$. Courtesy Sotheby's.

superbly potted, the pear-form body rising to a waisted neck with a raised fillet and an elegantly flaring rim, all supported on a tall splayed foot, finely painted in vivid tones of sapphire blue with a scholar reclining beneath a tall, arching pine tree, leaning with one arm supported on a stack of books, gazing thoughtfully into a quiet pool of water, amid further foliage, rockwork and a full moon overhead, all within a shaped cartouche, the reverse with a detailed display of fine scholarly and luxurious items such as a waterpot, incense vase, censer and antique bronze placed atop a recessed-leg table, a large vase of flowers, an elaborate floor screen, a seal box, fans, and a bundle of scrolls, all set between crisp geometric borders, the neck with stylized shou characters, the base with an apocryphal six-character Chenghua mark, coll. no. 1722.

Provenance: Marchant, London, 2000.

Sotheby's. Kangxi: The Jie Rui Tang Collection, Part II, New York, 19 Mar 2019, 02:00 PM