A TRUNCATED BLUE AND WHITE BOTTLE VASE, YUCHUNPING MING DYNASTY, YONGLE PERIOD, THE MOUNT 19TH CENTURY

the tall pear-shaped body sweeping up to a tall slender neck (partially missing), fluidly painted in rich cobalt tones ranging from inky blue to black with a dense rose scroll with blooms arranged in two rows surrounded by rose hips and leaves, set between formal borders with round florets, below a band of lotus scroll at the neck and a row of upright plantain leaves, all supported on a broad low foot encircled by a key-fret border, the glaze with a dense overall crackle, the neck replaced by a possibly Indian thin silver mount with a domed cover attached by a chain link, with a repoussé design of florets among formal arabesques

Alam-Gir, 1661-2.
Sotheby's London, 8th/9th July 1974, lot 202.
Collection of F. Gordon Morrill.
Doyle's New York, 16th September 2003, lot 84.
Eskenazi Ltd, London.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1974 (on loan, no. 247).

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1637.

Part of the neck is missing and is replaced by a silver mount. The glaze is crackled which may have been the result of a fire. Apart from the neck, the rest of the vase is 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."

This pattern, with its elegant rose scrolls is unusual for its formal borders with round florets above and below the main design, maybe of Middle Eastern or Indian inspiration, which are rarely otherwise encountered in the repertoire of the Yongle porcelain painters. Only two companion pieces appear to exist: one bottle of this design is in the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, from the Ardabil Shrine, see T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East: Topkapi and Ardebil, Hong Kong, 1981, vol. III, pl. A72; the other is in the British Museum, London, from the collection of Harry Oppenheim, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, no. 3: 17. The design was revived in the Jiajing reign (AD 1522-66) and an example of that period is also in the Meiyintang collection, see Krahl, op. cit., vol. 4, no. 1693.

The flask bears a Persian inscription in Arabic script enclosed in a shaped cartouche, incised after firing, reading 'Alam-Gir Shahi [Belonging to 'Alam-Gir], as well as the date 1072 AH, corresponding to AD 1661-2. Alam-Gir was the imperial title of Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, who ruled from AD 1658 to 1707.