A VERY RARE WUCAI 'DRAGON AND PHOENIX' GARLIC MOUTH VASE MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI

the tall slender pear-shaped body supported by a wide straight foot, rising to a garlic-bulb shaped mouth, the body painted on each side with a writhing five-clawed dragon and a swooping phoenix contending a 'flaming pearl', all amid scattered flowers on meandering leafy stems, separated from the neck painted with a composite floral meander by a keyfret band, all below overlapping pendent leaves, and above a band of ruyi heads encircling the foot, the garlic bulb neck with strings of beads suspending jewels and precious objects, the rim inscribed with the six-character mark in underglaze-blue

Tokyo Bijitsu Club, February 1980.

One Thousand Years of Jingdezhen, Hagi Uragami Museum, 2007, cover.

There are losses to the green enamel, mostly concentrated to the two phoenix, the largest area covering approx 1.5 by 1.4cm. There is rubbing to the iron-red enamel. There is body firing line running around the mouth. But otherwise the vase is generally in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Wucai wares of the Wanli period belong to one of the most sumptuous group of wares of the Ming dynasty. Generally, the decoration and shape are varied and the colours are vivid and bold. The superbly potted present vase, which derives its form from bronze originals, is magnificent in size and brilliantly painted with animated dragons. The motif of long flower sprays and lingzhi fungus sprays are typical of the period and provide a rich and luxurious background. Jessica Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, p. 335, notes that designs of powerful dragons were commonly used in textiles to decorate imperial wares.

Wanli vases of this type are rare; see two related vases similarly decorated with a dragon and phoenix, but with pomegranate-shaped lappets around the garlic bulb neck and without overlapping pendant leaves on the neck, one in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo, published in Toyo toji meihin zuroku, Tokyo, 1991, pl. 94, and the other from the collection of A. A. Ballard sold at Christie's London, 9^th June 1975, lot 79.

Similar vases can also be found painted with the design of two dragons; see one illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection. Geneva, vol. 2, Geneva, 1969, pl. A203; and one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. III, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 99. See also a smaller vase, formerly in the Lindley-Scott Collection and later sold in our London rooms, 4^th July 1945, lot 80, included in Soame Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1988, pl. 187; another in the Chang Foundation published in James Spencer, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pl. 110; and a third sold in our Los Angeles rooms, 2^nd November 1981, lot 304.

Another commonly found motif on Wanli vases of this form is that of birds and waterfowl; see a pair of vases from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, included in the exhibition Imperial Overglaze-Enamelled Wares in the Late Ming Dynasty, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1995, cat. no. 22; two larger vases in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, one illustrated in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. III, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 100, and the other published in Liu Liang-yu, Ming Official Wares, Taipei, 1991, p. 255 (top right); and another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 13, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 109, possibly of the same size as the present vase but with the rim damaged. A related vase was included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935, cat. no. 1912, and later sold in our London rooms, 24^th March 1953, lot 62; and another was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 5/6^th November 1997, lot 1050.