A unusual blue and white garlic headed bottle, Transitional to Kangxi. Photo Bonhams.

Its long, waisted neck and truncated pear-form body painted in cobalt line and wash with the scattered sprigs of bamboo, water weeds, seasonal blossoms and berries separated by rows ascending and descending leaves set between double rings on the exterior walls, the lustrous glaze stopping neatly above the curving edge of the base, unglazed except for an accidental splash visible across a small concave recess at the center. 15 1/4in (38.7cm) high. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,200 - 3,700)

Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, 23 September 1995, lot 460.

Similar scattered branches of foliage and flowers, combined with a descending leaf band, decorate a pair of covered jars (32cm high) included in S. T. Yeo and Jean Martin, Chinese Blue & White Ceramics, 1978, cat. no. 253 & 254, pp. 222-223, as Transitional Ming/Ching 1630-1660.

FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART, San Francisco, 24 Jun 2014 -http://www.bonhams.com/