Page 238 - Christie's Chinese Works of Art March 24 and 25th, 2022 NYC

What makes this bianhu, and others like it, so
unusual is the addition of a tall, tapering upper
neck to a conventional moon-flask shape. A
similar, but incomplete, flask of this unusual
shape is illustrated by R. Krahl and J. Ayers
in Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray
Museum, Istanbul, vol. II, Yuan and Ming Dynasty
Porcelains, London, 1986, p. 543, no. 657, where
one can see that the foot and top of the neck are
missing. The decoration is not identical, but is
similarly arranged, and the painting style is very
similar. This is also true of a complete example
illustrated by J. A. Pope in Chinese Porcelains
from the Ardebil Shrine, Freer Gallery of Art,
Washington, 1956, pl. 69, no. 29.459. On the
Ardebil Shrine flask, the decoration on the neck
is identical to that seen on the present vase, but
the Ardebil example has two bosses that protrude
from the narrow sides of the body. This flask is
also illustrated by T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain
Collections in the Near East, Topkapi and Ardebil,
vol. 3, The Ardebil Shrine Collection, Hong Kong,
1981 rev. ed., p. 178, A. 101, where two other flasks
of this type and also illustrated, both missing
the upper section of the neck, and both without
bosses. Another incomplete moon flask of similar
shape is illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall in Ming
Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001,
pp. 179-80, no. 7:5, which is missing most of
the upper neck. It, too, has a quatrefoil foot and
a recessed medallion on each side, but like the
flask in the Ardebil Shrine, it has raised bosses on
the narrow sides. The author relates this shape
to Islamic metalwork prototypes. Based on the
published examples, none of the flasks of this
type appear to share the same decoration on the
body. The decoration is, however, always densely
arranged and painted in a dark cobalt blue, which
according to Harrison-Hall is typical of Hongzhi-
period wares of this type.
A very similar moon-flask but decorated with
tall petal lappets on the upper neck instead of
phoenixes, was sold at Christie’s New York, 22
March 2019, lot 1630.
1107

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION VARIOUS PROPERTIES
1107 1108
A VERY RARE BLUE AND WHITE `FISH’ JAR A BLUE AND WHITE MOONFLASK, BIANHU
MING DYNASTY, MID-15TH CENTURY MING DYNASTY, LATE 15TH-EARLY 16TH CENTURY
The jar is decorated in a vibrant cobalt blue with a continuous scene of The flattened spherical body is raised on a quatrefoil foot and is decorated on
carp swimming amidst lotus flowers, above a lappet border around the foot each side with a central recess enclosing a ruyi-form flower head surrounded
and below floral roundels on a diaper ground on the broad shoulders and a by lions interspersed with floral branches, all within a line border and an outer
quadrilobed diamond pattern on the short neck. field of lotus and fish scroll. Loop handles flank the waisted lower section of
the neck, which is encircled by upright leaves below the tapering upper section
14æ in. (37.5 cm.) high
decorated with flying phoenixes amidst clouds.
$15,000-25,000 13Ω in. (34.4 cm.) high
PROVENANCE:
$15,000-20,000
Private collection, Europe, by repute.
明 十五世紀末/十六世紀初 青花開光獅紋扁壺
A very similar jar was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 27-28 April 1993, lot 36.

美國私人珍藏
明 十五世紀中 青花魚藻紋罐
來源:
歐洲私人珍藏(傳)
1108 (another view) 1108
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