Lot 2925. A rare blue and white 'Dragon and Phoenix' jar, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 5 1/4 in. (13.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000 (USD 38,489 - USD 64,148). Price realised HKD 400,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

The jar is painted to the sides with a pair of five-clawed dragons and a pair of phoenix in pursuit of 'flaming pearls', on a composite floral scroll ground, with a broad border at the shoulder encompassing 'The Three Friends of Winter', pine, prunus and bamboo, below a key-fret at the mouth rim, the foot with a further border of precious objects trailing ribbons, box.

Provenance: Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2005, lot 1423.

Note: The present jar belongs to a group of large blue and white jars and meiping dating to the mid-15th century, sometimes known as ‘interregnum period’, depicting figures in landscapes and garden settings in the so-called ‘windswept style’, featuring billowing clouds and blown trees. Compare with a similar scene on a jar illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Shogakukan, 1976, vol. 14, pl. 35; a similar jar from the Manno Art Museum, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 October 2002, lot 532; and another jar with a similar scene sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 7 July 2003, lot 659.

Compare also to a meiping with a similar scene, exhibited at No Doubts, Christie’s Shanghai, 6-19 December 2014, catalogue no. 20.

Christie's. An Important Collection Of Chinese Ceramics From A Private Collector, Hong Kong, 27 November 2019