Lot 146. A rare 'Qingbai' vase, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

the pear-shaped body rising to a slender neck and flared rim, applied with fine beaded decoration forming the outlines of four ruyi heads, with upright bands of lappets around the neck, each head enclosing a character and forming the phrase shou bi nan shan, fu ru dong hai (a wish for longevity as enduring as the mountains and fortune as vast as the sea), covered overall with a pale blue-green glaze suffused with crackles. Height 11 in., 28 cm

Exhibition: Zhongguo taoci jingpin zhan [The Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics of Eight Dynasties], National Museum of History, Taipei, 1987, p. 40.

Bibliography: Chugoku meito ten: Chugoku toji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of Chinese Pottery: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics], Tokyo, 1992, no. 60.

Note: It is extremely rare to find a qingbai vase decorated and inscribed in this style. See a vase of closely related form and with the same inscription, excavated in 1963 from Wotuo Chi's tomb near the Longtan lake and now in the Capital Museum, Beijing, published in Selections from the Capital Museum Collection. Beijing, 1991, cat. no. 72.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM