A silver-mounted blue and white bottle, Transitional period, circa 1635-1640. Estimate $5,000 – $7,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.

The compressed, globular body is decorated with a scene of an official accompanied by attendants greeting a kneeling farmer holding a hoe and pointing towards his water buffalo, while another grazes in the foreground, all below a band of flower scroll on the shoulder and two stylized, leafy stems on the neck that rises to a rounded collar decorated with lotus scroll. The neck has a sterling silver mount and there is a sterling silver stopper. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm.) high

Provenance: Private American collection, acquired in the 1950s-60s.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza