Lot 27. A rare Qingbai ewer and a cover, Yuan Dynasty; 24.7cm (9 5/8in) high. Estimate £2,500 - 3,500 (€3,200 - 4,500). Sold for £ 4,375 (€ 4,891). Photo Bonhams.

Well potted, the pear shaped body rising to a tall, flared neck, the shoulder applied on each side with phoenix in flight with scrolling tail, fanning out into a blooming lotus, below scrolling foliage and above petal lappets containing ruyi heads, rising from a flared foot, the handle moulded as a sinuous fish-dragon, its mane forming a small loop for attaching the cover, the curving spout issuing from the jaw of a dragon, connected to the body by an elaborate S-shaped bridge, the neck surrounded by a further band of ruyi heads alternating with upright lappets, all beneath a pale blue transparent glaze, together with a stepped domed cover. (2).

Provenance: A British private collection 

Literature: A.Joseph, Chinese and Annamese Ceramics, London, 1973, fig.18, p.43 (a copy of this book is offered as part of this lot). 

Note: The overall shape of this ewer is influenced by Middle Eastern metalwork, which was imported to China from Iran and Turkey during the 14th century. Indeed, the multiple decorative techniques employed on the vessel, such as moulding and slip painting, would seem to attest to the increasing demand for rich ornamentation which was later satisfied by the use of underglaze colours. 

Compare the ewers illustrated by J.Ayers, Some Characteristic Wares of the Yüan Dynasty, in Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol.29, 1954-5, pl.38, fig.17, A.du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1984, p.110, fig.1.

A similar ewer was included in the Meiyingtang collection and sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2011, lot 39. Another example, sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 1999, lot 256.

Bonhams. AUCTION 23541: ASIAN ART, 9 May 2016 - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE