Lot 852. A blue and white double mandarin ducks jarlet, Lê dynasty, 15th-16th century; 3 3/8in (8.7cm) diameter. Estimate US$ 2,000 - 3,000 (€1,700 - 2,500). Sold for US$ 2,250 (€1,899). Photo: Bonhams.

Of compressed globular form with an upright neck, the shoulder mounted with facing duck heads and tails, then colored underglaze blue with an outline forming the feathered bodies and feet separated by water grasses, the slightly concave base left unglazed. 

Published: James H. Brow and Anh Hoang Brow, 'Vietnamese Ceramics: A Ten Thousand Year Continuum,' Arts of Asia, March-April 2004, p. 92, no. 31.

Note: The duck heads and tails were applied to the walls of this lot after the compressed body was formed. A number of double mandarin duck vessels were offered in Butterfields Treasures from the Hoi An Hoard sale, 11-13 October 2000, lots 860-97. However the Hoi An Hoard group had a hole in the beak of one duck head so that they could function as ewers or water droppers, following Chinese prototypes from the Ming dynasty. For an example dated to the mid-fifteenth century in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco: see He Li, Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Survey, 1996, no. 409, pp. 222-223 and discussed on p. 251.

Bonhams. FINE ASIAN WORKS OF ART, 18 Dec 2017, 11:00 PST, SAN FRANCISCO