A small blue and white censer, Tianqi-Chongzhen period, circa 1630. Estimate $2,000 - $3,000. Price Realized $7,500 . Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The small censer, with gently flaring mouth and applied on either side with a handle topped by an animal head, is decorated in pale tones of cobalt blue with a scene of the Emperor of Heaven surrounded by immortals, and on the reverse with an immortal on horseback with various attendants. The wide, flat foot is unglazed and encircles the glazed base which bears an apocryphal Jiajing mark. 5 ½ in. (13.8 cm.) diam.

Provenance: Acquired in New York.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Christie's. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza