Lot 281. A blue and white 'Double-Duck' form water dropper and cover, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century. Length 5 in., 12.7 cm. Estimate 7,000 — 9,000 USD. Lot sold 6,250 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the ducks swimming side by side, the beak of one pierced to form a spout, the hollow bodies with a round aperture on the back and freely painted with plumage in grayish-blue tones, the cover modeled in the form of a lotus leaf (2). 

Provenance: Collection of J.J. (Ken) Baars, Zurich, Switzerland, 27th March 1978.

Note: A 15th century example, is illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics, A New Comprehensive Survey from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1996, no. 409, p. 223. Another, also acquired from Ken Baars, in the Rijksmuseum and illustrated in Christiaan J.A. Jorg, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, London, 1997, p. 35, no. 9. Double-Duck-form waterdroppers emblematic of marital harmony, were a popular export item to Southeast Asia.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 15 sept. 2015