Lot 1450. A blue and white Chenghua-style jar, late 15th-early 16th century; 5¼ in. (13.5 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. Price realised USD 10,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2013. 

The compressed globular body is painted around the sides with a band of mallow meander bearing four blossoms separated by leaves. The shoulder is decorated with a band of overlapping petals below the short neck, and the foot is encircled by a stylized lappet border. The base is unglazed.

Provenance: Acquired in New York in the early 1980s.

Note: The design on this jar is based on 'palace bowls' with Chenghua reign marks, such as the example in the Ataka Collection illustrated by T. Nakano, The Panoramic Views of Chinese Patterns, Tokyo, 1985, pl. 109, and another in Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. J. M. Hu, Shanghai, 1989, p. 52, no. 19. The shape of the jar can also be found amongst Chenghua wares, such as the example decorated with various flowering plants illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Cheng-hua Porcelain Ware, Taipei, 2003, p. 103, no. 85.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 21 - 22 March 2013