A FINE AND RARE BLUE AND WHITE CUPSTAND MING DYNASTY, HONGWU PERIOD

of lobed octafoil form, the shallow rounded sides rising to a barbed everted rim divided into eight bracket foliations, molded on the interior with a central raised ring and around the exterior with crisp radiating ridges dividing the lobes, finely decorated overall in shaded tones of cobalt accented with 'heaping and piling', the slightly recessed centre medallion with a leafy peony spray and attendant bud, surrounded by six chrysanthemum wreathed by a foliate stem and eight sprigs of lotus around the cavetto, each carefully rendered with different blooms and fanciful curly foliage, the rim detailed with a 'classic' scroll and key-fret on its outer edge, the central ring picked out with pendent lappets, the exterior painted with petal lappets on each lobe, the recessed base and beveled footring left unglazed

Collection of Edward T. Chow (1950).
Matthias Komor, New York (1951).
Collection of Myron S. Falk.
Christie’s New York, 20th September 2001, lot 128.

Neolithic to Ming. Chinese Objects – The Myron S.Falk Collection, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Mass., 1957, no. 32.

Helen D. Ling and E.T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1950, pl. 5.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1627.

There are some small original gaps in the glaze on the underside at the junction between the rim and the sides (visible in the catalogue illustration on p. 91), a few light scratches to the glaze on the interior, but apart from this the cupstand is in very good condition. The cobalt is especially bright for a Hongwu vessel.
"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 very similar cupstand from the collections of Jean-Pierre Dubosc and Mr. and Mrs. John A. Pope, was included in the exhibition Ming Blue-and-White. An Exhibition of Blue-Decorated Porcelain of the Ming Dynasty, Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrated in the Philadelphia Museum Bulletin, vol. XLIV, no. 223, Autumn 1949, cat. no. 24, as well as the exhibition Mostra d’Arte Cinese/Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 611; another from the collection of Dr. H.P. Stevens, illustrated in Adrian M. Joseph, Ming Porcelains. Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, pl. 16, was sold in our London rooms, 28th June 1966, lot 70; one with a lotus spray in the centre, in the Capital Museum, Beijing, is published in Shoudu Bowuguan cang ci xuan [Selection of porcelains from the Capital Museum], Beijing, 1991, pl. 86.

A cupstand of this type with a lotus scroll replacing the chrysanthemums was excavated from the waste heaps of the Ming imperial kilns at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, and included in the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming chu guanyao ciqi/Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 17. In the exhibition, this cupstand was shown together with a small cup (ibid., cat. no. 18), but in the Hongwu period – like in the Yuan dynasty – cups matching the many cupstands are extremely rare.

A companion piece painted in copper-red, formerly also in the Meiyintang collection, is published in Krahl, op.cit., vol. 2, no. 644, and was sold in these rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 44.