Lot 152. A blue and white 'crane and deer' yenyen vase, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 46.5cm (18 1/4in) high. Sold for £69,600 (Estimate £35,000-£50,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

The body boldly painted with a continuous scene of a pair of cranes in flight above a spotted doe turning to look at an antlered deer, all amidst rocks and pines, the flaring neck also with a crane in flight above two recumbent deer amid rockwork and pines.

Provenance: George Kidston CMG, Head of the Eastern Department of the British Foreign Office, 1919-1920, and thence by descent to the the estate of the late Hon. Mrs Patricia A. Kidston (1927-2021).

Note: A similar albeit slightly smaller yenyen vase, Kangxi, also decorated with deer and cranes in the Gardiner Museum of Chinese Art, is illustrated in Cobalt Treasures: The Bell Collection of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, Toronto, 2003, p.62.

Compare with a similar blue and white 'crane and deer' yenyen vase, Kangxi , which was sold at Bonhams London, 8 November 2012, lot 44.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 3 November 2022, London, New Bond Street