Lot 1335. A very rare blue and white deep bell-shaped cup, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566); 4 3/8 in. (11.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The exterior is decorated with four roundels of side-facing five-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst flames, each positioned above a peach sprig and separated by thebabao and clouds. The interior is decorated with a shou character, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Bluett & Sons, London. 
The Falk Collection, no. 267. 
Christie’s New York, The Falk Collection I, 16 October 2001, lot 139. 
Kitayama Fine Arts, Tokyo.

Note: There appear to be no other published cups of this design and decoration. There is, however, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, a Jiajing mark and period cup with a similar bell-form profile painted with three sheep on the exterior along with pine, bamboo, plum, palm trees, and taihu stones, as well a slightly narrower cup, also Jiajing mark and period, with a scene of a pavilion between arching columns; both examples illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, A New Comprehensive Survey, New York, 1996, p. 225, nos. 424 and 426.

Deep cup with three goats, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522-1566), China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt decoration, Qinghua ware. H. 4 1/4 in x Diam. 6 1/4 in, H. 10.8 cm x Diam. 15.9 cm. Gift of Roy Leventritt, B69P130L. © 2017 Asian Art Museum

Cup with a scene of Daoist temples, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522-1566), China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt decoration, Qinghua ware. H. 4 in x Diam. 4 1/2 in, H. 10.2 cm x Diam. 11.5 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P2374. © 2017 Asian Art Museum

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018