A FINE BLUE AND WHITE MEIPING SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

the broad shouldered gracefully tapering body rising from a recessed base to a narrow short waisted neck with everted rim, painted in the Ming style in rich tones of cobalt blue with detached flowering peony, camellia and prunus sprays above fruiting pomegranate, lychee and peach sprays, all between a stiff leaf band at the base and a lappet collar, the neck with four stylised floral sprigs, the base with an underglaze-blue seal mark

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th May 1986, lot 41.

The overall condition is very good with very few scratches to the surface. The cobalt is bright and even throughout.
"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."

A closely related vase, from the E.T. Chow collection and sold in these rooms, 19^th May 1981, lot 546, is illustrated in Michel Beurdeley and Guy Raindre, Qing Porcelain, London, 1987, pl. 153; and another is published in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 63, where Julian Thompson discusses this group of Qing blue and white wares as painted with 're-designs' of Yongle patterns with changes of detail, particularly in the borders and with simulated 'heaping and piling' of cobalt blue (see p. 28). For the 15^th century prototype of this design compare a meiping in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Minji meijin zuroku, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 12.

For further examples of vases of this type, see one from the T.Y Chao collection, included in the exhibition Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Fondation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, cat. no. 79, sold as one of a pair in our New York rooms, 24^th May 1974, lot 420, and again in these rooms, 19^th May 1989, lot 270; another sold in these rooms, 29^th April 1992, lot 126, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 29^th November 2007, lot 1686; and a third example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28^th October 2002, lot 699, and again in these rooms, 9^th October 2007, lot 1564.