Page 76 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Fine Chinese Art

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A MASSIVE BLUE AND WHITE ‘LOTUS’ JAR, GUAN
Jiajing six-character mark and of the period
Heavily potted, the ovoid body painted in vibrant cobalt-blue around
the shoulders with jewelled strings suspending stylised chimes, above
a continuous scene of lotus blossoms borne on an undulating scroll
issuing curling leaves, all above a band of upright lotus leaves.
50.8cm (20in) high

£50,000 - 80,000
CNY430,000 - 690,000

明嘉靖 青花瓔珞番蓮紋大罐
青花「大明嘉靖年製」楷書款

Provenance: a British private collection, and thence by descent

來源：英國私人收藏，並由後人保存迄今

The shoulders of the present lot are decorated with the yingluo (瓔
珞) pattern. The yingluo pattern derives from the jewellery of stringed
pearls and ornaments worn around the neck, chest, wrist or ankles
by the Indian aristocracy and commonly seen on Buddhist sculpture.
It was a particularly popular design on ceramics from the mid to late
Ming dynasty.

It is rare for such large jars from the Jiajing period to have survived.
However, a jar of similar size and near identical design, Jiajing mark
and of the period, belonged to the Safavid Shahs of Persia and was
housed in the Ardebil Shrine; see J.A.Pope, Chinese Porcelains from
the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981, pl.79. See another very similar
jar with the same motif, Jiajing mark and of the period, illustrated in
Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl.702.

74 | BONHAMS For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.