A Ming-style blue and white bottle vase, yuhuchun ping. Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period

The swelling sides painted with a continuous scene of bamboo alternating with plantain growing beside garden rocks, interspersed with other flowering plants, above a petal lappet band encircling the lotus blossom decorated splayed foot, the neck and shoulder decorated with bands of upright plantain leaves, foliate scroll and pendant ruyi, the pale blue tone of the design highlighted with darker blue spots in imitation of the 'heaped and piled effect' 28cm (11in) high. Estimate: HK$230,000 - 250,000, $30,000 - 32,000 - Unsold.

Footnote: The design on the present lot is based on a Ming dynasty prototype. A Yongle period example in the Palace Museum is illustrated by Geng Baochang in Gugong bowuyuan cang: Mingchu qinghuaci, Vol. I, Beijing, 2002, no. 18, p. 44. The Yongle example is taller and has a slimmer profile. All the essential elements of the design are, however, present. The neck and shoulder are likewise decorated with bands of upright plantain leaves, foliate scroll and pendant ruyi, while the base and foot are similarly encircled with a band of petal lappets, and a series of lotus blossoms in profile respectively. The main design on the body also consists of plantain, bamboo, garden fence, fantastic garden rocks and scattered plants, all rendered in inky blue tones, and with a similar arrangement.

This motif combining plantain, bamboo and garden rocks also appears on a Yongle meiping, illustrated by Geng, ibid. no 14, p. 39, where it is noted that this motif first developed during the Yuan period, became popular during Yongle's reign, and eventually entered the repertoire of traditional motifs. Indeed, there are Kangxi, Yongzheng, Guangxu, and even Xuantong examples of bottle vases with this motif.

For a similar example, see Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book II, Taipei, 1968, pl. 12. See also a vase sold, Christie's New York, 17 September 2008, lot 459.

清乾隆 青花芭蕉庭園玉壺春瓶 六字篆書款

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 Dec 2008. Hong Kong.  Copyright © 2002-2008 Bonhams 1793 Ltd., Images and Text All Rights Reserved. www.bonhams.com