Lot 19. A rare Yuan-style doucai meiping, Qing dynasty, 18th century. Height 36.3 cm, 14¼ in. Estimate: 60,000 - 80,000 GBP. Lot sold: 75,600 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

robustly potted, the tapering body rising to a high rounded shoulder and surmounted by a short waisted neck and a lipped rim, the main register with four vibrantly painted large floral blooms borne on a continuous undulating leafy stem, the upper register with two phoenixes in flight amidst a floral ground enclosed within classic scrolls, all above upright lappets picked out in bright yellow, green and orange enamels skirting the base.

Provenance: Spink & Son Ltd., London (according to label).

Note: This elegant meiping belongs to a select group doucai vases, whose form and design closely follow blue and white porcelain of the 14^th century. The tripartite division of the motif and the bold rendering of flowers and serrated leaves are characteristics of meiping from the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), such as a one in the Shanghai Museum, included in the Museum’s exhibition Splendors in Smalt. Art of Yuan Blue and White Porcelain, Shanghai, 2012, cat. no. 13.

Compare a larger meiping, sold in our Hong Kong rooms in 1978, 1985, 1991 and most recently, 8^th October 2010, lot 2685; another sold in our New York rooms, 8^thMay 1981, lot 332; and a third sold at Christie’s London, 23^rdMarch 1987, lot 405. See also a much larger example, from the collection of Sir John Buchanan Jardine, in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1954, pl. 88. See also other meiping sold in our New York rooms, 8^th May 1981, lot 332; and another was sold at Christie’s London, 23^rd March 1987, lot 405.

A fine and rare doucai 'Phoenix' meiping, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 46 cm., 18 in. Estimate 600,000 — 800,000 HKD. Lot sold 740,000 HKD at Hong Kong, 08 October 2010, lot 405. © Sotheby's

Cf. my post: A fine and rare doucai 'Phoenix' meiping, Qing dynasty, 18th century

Sotheby's. Imperial Porcelain – A Private Collection, London, 4 November 2020