Lot 847. A blue and white garden stool, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 14 ½ in. (36.8 cm.) high. Estimate: USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 22,500. © Christie's 2021

Of barrel form, the sides are decorated with lions chasing beribboned Buddhist emblems, and molded in relief with lion-mask handles with pierced mouths between bosses and decorative borders. The convex top is centered with a floral medallion and four lotus pads.

Provenance: Peter Pappot, Amsterdam, 1992.

Note: A related garden stool from the Convent of the Capuchinas, Toledo, dated to the Zhengde reign (1506-1521), is illustrated by C. Krahe in Chinese Porcelain in Habsburg Spain, Madrid, 2016, p. 199, no. 83. Like the present garden stool, the Convent of the Capuchinas example is decorated with a central band of confronting lions above a wave border, similar bosses and molded mask handles within a cartouche, but with an upper diaper band and a pierced medallion on the top.