AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE BLUE AND WHITE MOONFLASK MING DYNASTY, YONGLE PERIOD

the compressed spherical body convex on the front and back sides, resting on a very low oval foot, rising to a slender bulbous neck, flanked on the sides with strap handles with raised central ribs and a leaf-shaped terminal enclosing peony and camellia sprays, painted to the main sides with a formal lotus spray with four blooms, two buds and a stylised leaf in a quatrefoil panel, surrounded by sprigs of flowering pomegranate, camellia, chrysanthemum and peony within a 'classic' scroll border, the narrow sides left plain, the neck collared by bands of 'classic' scroll, chevrons and key-fret

Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, The British Museum, London, 1994.
Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 113.

Nuno de Castro, A cerâmica e a porcelana Chinesas [Chinese pottery and porcelain], Porto, 1992, vol. 2, p. 26, pl. 16.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2,
no. 661.

There is a 2 cm x 4 cm 'C' shaped (possibly rebuilt) rim chip on one side extending down to the half-cash band and to one of the handles. The other handle has a hairline crack around the base at the join to the body.
"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 flask appears to be unique, and any flasks of this form painted with designs other than the well-known formal rosette are very rare. A flask in the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, painted with a peony spray in a similar symmetrical arrangement, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, 1980-82, vol. 6, no. 75.

Two blue-and-white flasks of this form with the well-known rosette design were included in the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming chu guanyao ciqi/Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 65, with an oval foot, and attributed to the Yongle period, and cat. no. 134, with a square foot, attributed to the Xuande reign, as well as a plain white Yongle example without a foot, cat. no. 91.

This distinctive lotus design is better known from flasks and vases of different form; see, for example, a moonflask with similar lotus scrolls from the Bishu Shanzhuang ('Mountain Villa to Escape the Heat'), the summer retreat of the Qing Emperors in Chengde, north of Beijing, published in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], Shanghai, 1999-2000, vol. 12, pl. 17; as well as a large flask and a bottle vase in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, included in the Museum's exhibition Mingdai chunian ciqi tezhan mulu/Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Early Ming Period Porcelain, Taipei, 1982, cat. nos. 3 and 4. The development of this lotus design can be observed on a slightly later, much larger flask inscribed with a Xuande reign mark, also in the British Museum, published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 4:16.