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PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN Covered overall in a vibrant cobalt, the aesthetic Compare a similar meiping, attributed to the
origins of this piece can be traced to the early 15th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
A BLUE-GLAZED VASE Ming dynasty when potters rst attempted to New York, published in Suzanne G. Valenstein,
MING DYNASTY, 15TH CENTURY craft meiping with monochrome blue glazes. A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York,
Vessels of this type were expensive to produce 1989, pl. 146; another, in Japan, is illustrated
of meiping form, the sturdily potted body gently as they required copious amounts of cobalt, in Sekai Toji Zenshu / Ceramic Art of the World,
broadening to a full, rounded shoulder and a rare and costly commodity that needed to vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 155.; and a third, from
sweeping to a slightly tapered neck with a lipped be imported from Central Asia. Each vase was the Gulbenkian Museum, Durham, which sold at
rim, covered overall in a rich lapis lazuli-tone dipped, possibly more than once, into a glaze mix Christie’s New York, 21st September 2000, lot
glaze thinning slightly at the neck and rim and containing cobalt oxide in order to achieve the 296.
falling irregularly at the foot, the interior glazed distinctive dark blue tone seen on the present
white, the base unglazed piece. $ 30,000-50,000
Height 14¼ in., 36.3 cm
78 SOTHEBY’S