Page 28 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 Hong Kong

219
An extremely rare blue and white ‘dragon and bajixiang’ jarlet
and cover
Wanli six-character mark and of the period
Well potted in the form of a wide guan with concave circular foot
rising to high and prominent shoulders ending in a short mouthrim, the
exterior decorated with four dragon medallions in flight amidst cloud
scrolls, interspersed between eight auspicious emblems and beneath
a band of downward leaf lappets at the neck, surmounted by a cover
ending in a peach-shaped knop encircled by further leaf lappet borders,
the base with a six-character Imperial kaishu mark within double circles
in underglaze-blue.
7.6cm diam. (2).
HK$1,500,000 - 1,800,000
US$190,000 - 230,000

明萬曆 青花八吉祥雲龍趕珠紋小蓋罐
青花雙圈「大明萬曆年製」楷書款

The current lot is an extremely rare Imperial example with six-character
mark. The jarlet is unique in its small size and preserved with its original
cover; which is rare even in museum and private collections around
the world. It is also uncommon to find such unconventional decorative
motifs implemented on the exterior, including the eight auspicious
emblems. Rather than depicting the usual scrolling dragons in flight
design, the dragons are depicted within four medallions as well.

See a comparable and similar-sized small blue and white ‘dragon’ jarlet
without cover and also with Wanli six-character mark in the Songde
Tang collection, exhibited at the University Museum and Art Gallery
of the University of Hong Kong (14 October 2009-28 February 2010),
illustrated in The Fame of Flame. Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli
Periods, Hong Kong, 2009, pp.160-161, no.51. See also another related
example blue and white ‘dragon’ jarlet (without cover) sold at Sotheby’s
Hong Kong, 8 October 2013, lot 229.

26 | Bonhams