Lot 977. A pair of grisaille-decorated black-ground vases, Guangxu six-character marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1875-1908); 15¼ in. (38.6 cm.) high. Estimate $15,000 - USD 25,000. Price realised USD 16,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

Each vase is decorated en grisaille with a central figure of a bearded foreigner on horseback, surrounded by attendants holding branches of white-enameled prunus blossoms, with small details picked out in red enamel, all amidst a landscape and beneath scrolling clouds, above two decorative borders of alternating black and yellow enamels at the foot, and below a border of dragons, with backbones highlighted in yellow enamel on the shoulder below the similarly decorated neck.

Provenance: Acquired in the United States prior to 1970.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 18 – 19 September 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza