Page 316 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

1086
A WHITE-GLAZED BALUSTER JAR
MING DYNASTY, 15TH-16TH CENTURY
The jar is covered overall in an even white glaze, the base is left unglazed.
12 in. (30.5 cm.) high
$25,000-35,000

PROVENANCE
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 6 February 1962.
EXHIBITED
On loan: Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, May 1981-January 1995.
A larger white jar (44.9 cm. high) of similar shape to the current jar was excavated from the Xuande
strata of the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in 1983, and is illustrated in Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and
Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, pp.
212-3, no. 65. A similarly sized blue and white excavated jar is illustrated pp. 268-9, no. 93, in the same
volume. Like the current example, the excavated white jar bears no mark. The excavated jars have the
same globular form with wide, rounded shoulders, as the current example. The mouth form of these two
vessels, however, difer. The excavated jars have a straight mouth to ft the fanged lids that were found
with them. The current jar has a protruding rounded lip on the outer edge of its mouth. It may be that
this jar was intended as a storage jar for, perhaps, fne wine, and would have needed a closely-ftting
stopper, which could have been securely tied in place with cloth and a cord fastened under the lip.
明十五/十六世紀 白釉罐