Lot 5059. A rare wucai and underglaze-blue 'dragon and phoenix' bowl, Mark and period of Longqing (1567-1572); 26.8 cm. Lot sold 1,143,000 HKD (Estimate 800,000-1,200,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

the exterior vibrantly enamelled in iron red, yellow, green, and pale turquoise with a dragon and a phoenix divided by scrolling lotus between iron-red line borders, the interior with a gently domed centre enclosing a matching dragon and phoenix medallion, encircled by an underglaze-blue band of babao (Eight Treasures) borne on a meandering lingzhi scroll, the slightly recessed base inscribed in iron red with a six-character Da Ming Longquing nian zhao reign mark within a double circle and encircled by an unglazed footring

Provenance: Collection of Mr and Mrs R.H.R. Palmer (1898-1970).

Sotheby's London, 27th November 1962, lot 43.

Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), Hong Kong.

Collection of T.Y. Chao Family Trust.

Offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th May 1987, lot 253.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st November 1999, lot 330.

Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Literature: E.E. Bluett, 'Chinese Works of Art in English Collections: The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. R.H.R. Palmer – I', Apollo, May 1958, p. 159, fig. VI(a).

Gakuji Hasebe ed., Sekai Toji Zenshu [Ceramic Art of the World], vol. 14: Min [Ming], Tokyo, 1976, pls 200 and 201.

Chugoku Toji. Ise Korekushon / Chinese Ceramics. The Ise Collection, Tokyo, 2012, p. 93.

Exhibited: Polychrome Porcelain of the Ming Dynasty, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1950 (manuscript catalogue), cat. no. 46.

Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, cat. no. 39.

Chugoku Toji Meihin Ten Ise Korekushon no Shiho / Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Ishikawa, 2012, cat. no. 71.

Shika Meisai: Ise Korekushon no Meito / Imperial Colors: Peerless Chinese Porcelains from the Ise Collection, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 2015, cat. no. 26.

Note: A companion piece of this rare pattern, sold in these rooms, 28th November 1978, lot 110, was included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition, An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat. no. 102.

Lot 5061. A small wucai 'flower basket' dish, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 12.3 cm. Lot sold 381,000 HKD (Estimate 250,000-350,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

rising from a short foot to a flared rim, the interior painted with butterflies hovering over a charger overflowing with auspicious fruits, vegetables and flowers, surrounded by beribboned babao (the Eight Treasures), the exterior adorned with four boughs of fruits and flowers, the base inscribed with a six-character mark within a double circle, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Literature: Mayuyama: Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 945.

Nihon Bijutsu Kogei [A monthly journal devoted to the study of works on Far Eastern Art], April 1986 (Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, ad).

Exhibited: Chugoku Toji Meiho Ten: 10 Akae, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 1967, cat. no. 46.

A Jiajing and Wanli Exhibition, Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo, 2016, cat. no. 23.

Note: This motif, symbolising abundance, prosperity, and the wish for many sons, was especially popular during the Wanli reign. It appears not only on dishes of various sizes, but also on bowls and vases. Comparable examples can be found in the Taipei Palace Museum, accession nos guci 3964-3969. Additional dishes of this type include two from the Pilkington Collection: one exhibited at China Without Dragons: Rare Pieces from Oriental Ceramic Society Members, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 2016, cat. no. 172; the other sold in these rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 49. A further example was sold in our London rooms, 2nd December 1997, lot 213.

Lot 5062. A large wucai 'peony' dish, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 36.7 cm. Lot sold 215,900 HKD (Estimate 400,000-800,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

with rounded sides rising from a slightly tapered foot to a flared rim, the interior painted with four peony blooms encircled by a band of auspicious fruits, the exterior with a lotus scroll, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark of Wanli within a double circle, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 18th June 1985, lot 139.

Hirano Kotoken.

Inoueryukodo, Osaka.

Literature: Chugoku Toji. Ise Korekushon / Chinese Ceramics. The Ise Collection, Tokyo, 2012, p. 96.

Exhibited: Chugoku Toji Meihin Ten Ise Korekushon no Shiho / Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Ishikawa, 2012, cat. no. 74.

Shika Meisai: Ise Korekushon no Meito / Imperial Colors: Peerless Chinese Porcelains from the Ise Collection, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 2015, cat. no. 28.

Porcelaine. Chefs-d'œuvre de la Collection Ise, Musée Guimet, Paris, 2017, cat. no. 55.

Ise Korekushon Sekai wo Miryoshita Chugokutoji / The Enchanting Chinese Ceramics from the Ise Collection, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 2017, cat. no. 67.

Note: Compare a dish in the collection of Idemitsu Museum of Art, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 207. Another example (38.5 cm) is in the Waseda Aizu Museum, Tokyo, a gift from the Tomioka Shigenori Collection, accession no. toji B-75. A third example exhibited and illustrated in One Hundred Selected Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics, Osaka, 1961, cat. no. 90. See also an example (38.1 cm) in the collection of the Umezawa Memorial Museum, illustrated in Yuan and Ming Porcelain from the Collection of the Umezawa Memorial Museum, MOA Art Museum, Atami, 1992, cat. no. 54.

Lot 5063. A very rare wucai 'dragon' tea caddy and cover, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 36.7 cm. Lot sold 1,778,000 HKD (Estimate 2,500,000-5,000,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

potted with a compressed globular body rising to an incurved rim, the body vividly painted in intense tones of the wucai palette with four five-clawed dragons, two red and two green, separated by four lingzhi blooms, all between bands of leaves at the rim and foot, above another band of scrolls, the cover with a flat top painted with a dragon in underglaze blue and iron red, enclosed by a lingzhi border and further scrollwork bordering the rim, the base inscribed with an underglaze blue six-character reign mark within a double circle, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Watanabe & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Literature: Chugoku Toji. Ise Korekushon / Chinese Ceramics. The Ise Collection, Tokyo, 2012, p. 102-103

Nagomi [A monthly magazine by Tankosha], Tankosha, Tokyo, May 2018, cover and p. 19.

Exhibited: Bi no bi [The beauty of beauty], Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, 1958.

Chugoku Toji Meihin Ten Ise Korekushon no Shiho / Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Ishikawa, 2012, cat. no. 77.

Shika Meisai: Ise Korekushon no Meito / Imperial Colors: Peerless Chinese Porcelains from the Ise Collection, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 2015, cat. no. 31.

Porcelaine. Chefs-d'œuvre de la Collection Ise, Musée Guimet, Paris, 2017, cat. no. 54.

Ise Korekushon Sekai wo Miryoshita Chugokutoji / The Enchanting Chinese Ceramics from the Ise Collection, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 2017, cat. no. 66.

Note: The specially designed flat cover, featuring a wider rim and a straight inner ring that fits into the jar's rim, along with the thick clay body, effectively protects the tea leaves from moisture in the air. Tea caddies with such unique design became popular during the Wanli period. See a related set of wucai jar and cover decorated with two dragons in the Baur collection, illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 1, Geneva, 1999, pl. 100. Two further examples are preserved in the Palace Museum, Taipei, the first with a similar dragon motif, gu ci 005954, and the other painted with flowers, fruits, and birds on the jar, gu ci 005958, exhibited in Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: the Culture, Practice, and Art of Tea, Taipei, 2002, cat. no. 80.

Lot 5068. A rare wucai 'dragon' zun-form vase, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 31.6 cm. Lot sold 863,600 HKD (Estimate 500,000-800,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

modelled after archaic bronze zun vessels, the bulging body decorated with two dragons writhing amidst foliate scrolls above cresting waves, separated by vertical flanges and framed between bands of lappets and classic scrolls, the trumpet neck and tall flaring foot similarly decorated, the mouth encircled inside and out by a floral scroll, the recessed base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double circle, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: An old American collection.

Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Literature: A Jiajing and Wanli Exhibition, Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo, 2015, cat. no. 17.

Note: The present vase is one of the finest and rarest examples from the Wanli period. Although similar zun-form examples are known, wucai vases with flanges like the current one remain absent. See a related blue and white example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 171. Compare also a vase from the collection of the Manno Art Museum, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 534.

Lot 5069. A wucai 'dragon' brush box and cover, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 31.8 by 12.5 by h. 10.6 cm. Lot sold 1,016,000 HKD (Estimate 1,600,000-3,200,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

of rectangular section with indented corners, the exterior painted with pairs of five-clawed dragons contesting a flaming pearl and writhing amidst lingzhi blooms, the interior with ruyi clouds and divided by a wall with a wavy top, the base inscribed with a vertical six-character reign mark within a cartouche, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Literature: Mayuyama: Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 925.

Chugoku Toji Ise Korekushon / Chinese ceramics. The Ise collection, Tokyo, 2012, pp. 100-101.

Exhibited: Nihon Kotoji Chugoku Kobijutsu Tenrankai [Grand Exhibition of Japanese Ancient Ceramics and Chinese Ancient Works of Art], Yamanaka & Co., Ltd, Osaka, 1934, cat. no. 311.

Chugoku Toji Meihin Ten Ise Korekushon no Shiho / Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Ishikawa, 2012, cat. no. 75.

Shika Meisai: Ise Korekushon no Meito / Imperial Colors: Peerless Chinese Porcelains from the Ise Collection, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 2015, cat. no. 30.

Porcelaine. Chefs-d'œuvre de la Collection Ise, Musée Guimet, Paris, 2017, cat. no. 53.

Ise Korekushon Sekai wo Miryoshita Chugokutoji / The Enchanting Chinese Ceramics from the Ise Collection, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 2017, cat. no. 65.

Toujikyokai Kaiin Gentei Dainikai Tokubetsu Kanshokai Ise collection Chugoku Toji To, Hokuso, Nanso, Gen, Min, Shin [Special Exhibition for the members of The Japan Ceramic Society, Part 2, Chinese porcelains from Ise Collection; Tang, Northern Song, Southern Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing], Japan Ceramic Society, Tokyo, 2019, unillustrated.

Note: Wanli covered brush boxes of this type were usually painted in blue and white or wucai palette; the cover was decorated with either the 'dragon and phoenix' design, or with a 'double dragon' design as seen on the present piece. For similar wucai examples, see a highly close box in Shanghai museum, despite dragon and phoenix on sides, illustrated by Lu Minghua in Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Imperial porcelains of Ming dynasty] , Shanghai, 2007, pl. 173, fig. 3-105; one in the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in the Hirota Collection Catalogue, cat. no. 151; another illustrated in Masterpieces from Kurokawa Institute of Ancient Cultures, Hyogo, 1990, pl. 83.

Lot 5070. A very rare wucai 'dragon' zun-form vase, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 34 cm. Lot sold 3,810,000 HKD (Estimate 2,500,000-5,000,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

each facetted panel painted with five-clawed dragons writhing sinuously amidst floral sprays above cresting waves and jagged rocks, the midsection of each side further applied with a high-relief animal-mask handle, the foot moulded with a cusped lingzhi border, the galleried rim encircled by a keyfret band and inscribed on one side with a horizontal six-character reign mark within a cartouche, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: Collection of Hoshun Yamaguchi (1893-1971).

Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Literature: Tosetsu / A Monthly Journal Published by The Japan Ceramic Society, vol. 154, January 1966, pl. 2.

Exhibited: A Jiajing and Wanli Exhibition, Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo, 2016, cat. no. 18.

Porcelaine. Chefs-d'œuvre de la Collection Ise, Musée Guimet, Paris, 2017, cat. no. 52.

Ise Korekushon Sekai wo Miryoshita Chugokutoji / The Enchanting Chinese Ceramics from the Ise Collection, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 2017, cat. no. 64.

Note: This rare imperial vase reflects the Wanli court’s interest in archaism through form, while also embracing polychrome surface decoration with auspicious motifs. The successful execution of the square shape, integrated with relief modelling and enamel painting, highlights the technical complexity of late Ming imperial porcelain. Examples of this form and decoration are extremely rare.

See a similar vase formerly in the collections of Michel Duchange and Marchant, sold in our Paris rooms, 13th June 2025, lot 136; another from the collection of António de Medeiros e Almeida, illustrated in Cécile and Michel Beurdeley, La Céramique Chinoise, Fribourg, 1974, col. pl. 75; a third in the Hayashibara Art Museum, Okayama, included in the exhibition Chinese Arts of the Ming and Ching Periods, Tokyo National Museum, 1963, cat. no. 352; and a further example sold in our London rooms, 14th November 2000, lot 154.

See also an example painted in underglaze blue and later redecorated in lacquer, in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 340, cat. no. 11:169.

Lot 5071. A large wucai 'peacock' dish, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century; 33 cm. Lot sold 101,600 HKD (Estimate 200,000-400,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

the interior painted with two peacocks regarding each other amidst peony blooms and dense foliage, encircled by a meandering scroll of lotus on the cavetto, the underside with the bajixiang (Eight Buddhist Emblems) borne on a similar scroll, the base unglazed.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 29th February 1972, lot 234.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st November 1994, lot 53.

Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Literature: Chugoku Toji Ise Korekushon / Chinese ceramics. The Ise collection, Tokyo, 2012, pp. 74-75.

Exhibited: Chugoku Toji Meihin Ten Ise Korekushon no Shiho / Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Ishikawa, 2012, cat. no. 57.

Shika Meisai: Ise Korekushon no Meito / Imperial Colors: Peerless Chinese Porcelains from the Ise Collection, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 2015, cat. no. 6.

Porcelaine. Chefs-d'œuvre de la Collection Ise, Musée Guimet, Paris, 2017, cat. no. 56.

Ise Korekushon Sekai wo Miryoshita Chugokutoji / The Enchanting Chinese Ceramics from the Ise Collection, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 2017, cat. no. 69.

Lot 5072. A large wucai 'lotus' bowl, Late Ming dynasty; 28.3 cm. Lot sold 60,960 HKD (Estimate 200,000-400,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

with deep rounded sides rising from a slightly tapered foot to a flared rim, decorated on the interior with a large lotus flower surrounded by foliate scrolls, encircled by floral and lappet borders, all below a geometric band at the rim, the exterior centred with a broad lotus border between bands of classic scroll and lappets, all above a frieze of trefoil motifs around the foot, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character apocryphal Xuande mark within a double circle, Japanese double wood box

Provenance: Kochukyo Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Lot 5073. A wucai 'peony' stem cup, Ming dynasty, 16th century; h. 14.2 cm. Lot sold 254,000 HKD (Estimate 250,000-350,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

with a tall cylindrical stem supporting a bowl with deep rounded sides flaring at the rim, the exterior of the bowl painted with four blooming peonies, each issuing from a jardinière, the flowers alternating with four butterflies, all above a border of pearl strings around the tall foot, the interior decorated with a leafy lotus medallion at the centre and a wavy band below the rim, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Exhibited: Shika Meisai: Ise Korekushon no Meito / Imperial Colors: Peerless Chinese Porcelains from the Ise Collection, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 2015, cat. no. 15.

Note: See a similar stem cup from the Grandidier Collection in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 8: Musée Guimet, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 20.

Sotheby's. Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics from the Ise Collection, Hong Kong, 9 September 2025