Lot 5049. A rare iron-red 'crane' cup, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566); 6.6 cm.  Lot sold: 214,200 HKD (Estimate: 150,000 - 200,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2021

Note: Small vessels decorated entirely in the iron red palette from the Jiajing reign are rare and exquisite gems of the period. A Jiajing iron-red cup of a slightly different shape, but similarly decorated with cranes within cartouches, was sold in our London rooms 13th December 1977, lot 45. Compare also an iron-red and underglaze-blue ‘dragon’ cup from the Huaihaitang collection, included in the exhibition Enlightening Elegance. Imperial Porcelain of the Mid to Late Ming, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2012, cat. no. 76.

Sotheby's. Echoes of Fragrance – Evolution of Tea Culture from the Tang to the Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 16 December 2021