Page 67 - Fine Imperial Porcelain at Sothebys Hong Kong April 3 2019

Tankards such as the present piece are amongst the most
interesting and rare forms of porcelain from the Xuande
period, a golden age for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain.
The Xuande Emperor, himself a most accomplished artist,
was a remarkable patron of the arts. This may explain
the exceptionally high standard of the imperial porcelains
manufactured under his patronage. Particularly outstanding
are blue-and-white porcelains from his imperial kilns, which
were so highly valued in the following Qing dynasty that
even excellent examples from other reign periods of the
early Ming were called “Xuande blue and white” in the court
records.
Porcelain tankards were made, with minor variations, both
in the Yongle and Xuande periods, the former existing also in
monochrome white and being always unmarked. The shape
had been inspired by Islamic metal prototypes, like a few
other early Ming porcelain vessel forms manufactured in this
era of intense interaction with the Islamic world, when the
Muslim Admiral, General Zheng He, embarked on his global
voyages. These tankards appear to have been particular
favourites of the Yongzheng Emperor. Two extant handscrolls
of the Yongzheng period, Guwantu (‘Pictures of Antiques’),
from the Sir Percival David collection in the British Museum,
and in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, dated in
accordance with 1728 and 1729, respectively, depicting
works of art from the Imperial collection include three such
vessels from the early Ming period, all safely displayed
on encompassing wooden stands, see China. The Three
Emperors 1662-1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005-
2006, cat. nos 168 and 169 (see a tankard of this design at
the top right section of no. 169, fig. 1).
Close Islamic metal and jade counterparts are known from
the 15th and 16th centuries, but the basic shape might be
based on earlier Persian prototypes. A 10th- or 11th-century
jug from eastern Iran and four 15th-century examples in
bronze, copper and brass are illustrated in Assadullah Souren
Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World.

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