Lot 144. An aubergine and turquoise-glazed fahua-type baluster vase, Wanli period (1573-1620), 46.2cm (18 1/4in) high. Estimate £6,000 - 8,000 (€7,100 - 9,500). Photo: Bonhams.

Of elegant baluster form, flanked by a pair of handles moulded in the form of feathery peony flowers and leaves, the bulbous body decorated with large chrysanthemums and leaves enamelled in turquoise and white on a lustrous purple-aubergine ground.

Provenance: Lady Ward, possibly Irene Mary Bewick, Baroness Ward of Tyneside (1895-1980), by repute.

Note: A very similar vase decorated with chrysanthemums and with peony handles, 16th century, removed during the sacking of the yuanming yuan is included in the collection of Empress Eugénie at the Château de Fontainbleau, illustrated in Château de Fontainebleau: Le Musée Chinois de l'impératrice Eugénie, Paris, 2011, p.35. Another similar vase, Wanli, is in the British Museum and illustrated by J.Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p.415.

 Détail du Musée chinois de l'impératrice Eugénie au château de Fontainebleau © ACF

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 11 May 2017, 11:00 BST, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET