Lot 225. A 'Junyao' openwork stand, Ming Dynasty. Height 6 1/8 in., 15.5 cm. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Lot sold 40,625 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the sides pierced with four openwork petal-shaped arches centered with molded florets, beneath the waisted neck with everted rim, the sides with molded decoration towards the base, covered overall with a bluish-purple glaze stopping just above the foot. 

Note: It is unusual to find stands with this glaze, though there are several Longquan celadon examples. See one illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. I, cat. no. 542, where it is noted that one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Longquan Qingci, pl. 73, with the comment that 'where (p. 133) the assumption that it was used as a dish stand and not, as often maintained, an insert for a fish bowl is substantiated by a quotation from the Zun sheng ba jian by Gao Lian of 1591.'

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM