A FINE AND RARE WUCAI 'GARLIC-MOUTH' VASE MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI

the stoutly potted large pear-shaped body supported by a wide straight foot, rising to a garlic-bulb shaped mouth, the main body decorated in the wucai palette including iron-red and vivid purplish underglaze-blue, painted with two pairs of ferocious dragons, each pair in mutual pursuit of a 'flaming pearl' amid scattered flowers on meandering leafy stems, beneath a band of upright and pendant triangles containing trefoils at the shoulder, the slender neck with two pairs of birds flying among flowering and fruiting shrubs, the garlic-bulb mouth with multi-colour lotus scrolls, the rim inscribed with a six-character mark in underglaze-blue in a cartouche reserved on a foliate band, wood stand

Yamanaka Shokai, Osaka. 
A Private Collection, Japan, 1935-until recently.

Osaka Bijitsu Club, Sina Ko Bijitsu Tenrankai, Osaka,1935. 

The neck of the vase leans to one side a few degrees. There is a wooden stand that accompanies this vase that compensates for the lean. The enamelling is in very good condition with only a few very faint scratches. The overall condition is very good. Updated condition report: There is a very faint vertical 9cm hairline crack on the neck that resembles a faint scratch on the surface.
"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, and are characterised by vibrant designs in vivid colours. The present vase, which derives its form from bronze originals, is magnificent in size and brilliantly painted with dragons on the body, the dynamism of which is accentuated by the elegant scene of birds and flowers on the neck.

Wanli vases of this type are rare; see a closely related example, formerly in the Lindley Scott collection, sold in our London rooms, 4^th July 1945, lot 80, and now in the Avery Brundage collection, illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1988, pl. 187; one sold in our Los Angeles rooms, 2^nd November 1981, lot 304; another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. III, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 99; and a fourth vase, in the Chang Foundation, illustrated in James Spencer, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pl. 110. A slightly larger example is published in John Ayers, The Baur Collection. Geneva, vol. 2, Geneva, 1969, pl. A203.

Similar vases can also be found decorated with a dragon and a phoenix; see one published ibid., cat. no. 109; and another included in the exhibition One Thousand Years of Jingdezhen, Hagi Uragami Museum, Hagi, 2007, cat. cover. Another commonly found motif on Wanli vases of this form is that of birds and waterfowl; for example see a pair of vases in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, included in the exhibition Imperial Overglaze Enamelled Wares in the Late Ming Dynasty, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1995, cat. no. 22.