Lot 754. A pair of blue and white 'figural' jars and covers, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 9 5/8  in., 24.4 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD. Lot sold 21,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each jar of slender ovoid form set over a straight foot and rising to a short, tapered neck, the exterior of one painted in inky cobalt tones with a general seated at a table holding a brush in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other, a military officer addressing him with a defiant gesture and guards standing by, the other vase painted in cobalt with women in a garden enjoying erudite pastimes such as reading, cultivating bonsai, playing the qin, and competing at a game of weigi, each domed cover surmounted by a small Buddhist lion-form knop wreathed by a band of pendent stylized petals (4).

Provenance: Collection of John Pullan (1915-1995).
Spink, London, 1998.

Exhibited: Chinese Blue & White Porcelain from the Pullan Collection, Spink, London, 1998, cat. no. 38.