Provenance: Collection of the Morpurgo Family.
Nicolier, Paris, 1955.

Exhibited: Delft Fair, 1956.

Note: The subject of twelve ladies of the court amongst scholarly objects is a classic narrative depicted in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The famous painting by Qiu Ying of court ladies at scholarly pursuits in the Palace Museum, Taipei, entitled Spring Morning in the Han Palace, and painted in 1552, is probably the inspiration for this subject. 

A similar vase from the collection of Monsieur and Madame Sylvain L. Goldmuntz of Brasschaat, Belgium was sold in our London rooms, 9th May 1972, lot 140.

A vase of this form is illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Constrasting Colours, the Complete Collection of Treasures of The Palace Museum, vol. 38, Beijing, 1999, pl. 74. The pair to this vase was exhibited in Kangxi Famille Verte, Marchant & Son, London, 2017, cat. no. 15.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, 14 june 2024