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A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE BLUE AND J Insley Blair 1870 1939 62
WHITE CYLINDRICAL ‘DRAGON’ TEA CADDY 2012 11 28 2121
AND COVER
YONGZHENG MARK AND PERIOD The J Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain

nely potted, the tall cylindrical body rising to a gently sloping 1925 X 62
shoulder and short cylindrical neck, surmounted by a slightly
domed cylindrical cover with bud nial, the body exceptionally Insley Blair 1870 1939 Natalie Bennet Knowlton
well painted in deep tones of underglaze blue with two ve- 1883 1951
clawed dragons, one ascending and the other descending
amidst scattered cloud scrolls and above a band of crashing Tuxedo Park
waves encircling the base, all below a band of overlapping Blairhame Natalie Blair 1925
leaves at the shoulder, the upper surface of the cover painted
with three cloud scrolls, with a spiral band to the cylindrical
sides, the base with a six-character seal mark within a double-
circle, wood stand (3)
Height 11⅝in., 29.5 cm

PROVENANCE

Collection of J. Insley Blair (1870-1939), no. 62.
Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2012, lot 2121.

LITERATURE

The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, New York,
1925, pl. X, cat. no. 62.

Insley Blair (1870-1939), together with his wife Natalie Bennet
Knowlton (1883-1951), was one of the most prominent
collectors of Chinese porcelain in American in the early 20th
century. Largely purchased to decorate the rooms of their
neo-Jacobean style home, Blairhame, in Tuxedo Park, New
York, the collection of Chinese ceramics was focused on early
Qing dynasty monochromes and blue and white porcelain,
with a particular emphasis on pieces of ‘cabinet and miniature
dimensions’. The collection was commemorated in a catalogue
Natalie Blair had privately printed for her husband in 1925, of
which only four copies were published.

ᅮ$ 1,300,000-1,500,000

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 29