Page 40 - Christie's Important Chinese Art, March 23 to 24 2023 New York

1043
A LARGE BLUE AND WHITE REVERSE-DECORATED `CRANES'
JAR
JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A
DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1522-1566)
14¬ in. (37.5 cm.) high

$25,000-35,000
Cranes, as symbols of longevity, were a popular motif on Chinese ceramics.
The design on this jar known as 'hundred cranes' was therefore particularly
auspicious. The painting of designs on blue and white porcelains so that
the ground appears blue and the individual motifs appear reserved in white
was a feature of mid-Yuan and Xuande wares. This technique was time-
consuming and required more skill than the normal blue on white designs,
and thus was used less frequently during the later 15th century and early
16th century. The use of reserve decoration became popular again in the
(mark)
Jiajing and Wanli periods when various designs, particularly those of floral
motifs were depicted in white against a blue ground.
A jar of similar decoration and size, but dated to the Wanli period (1573-1619),
was sold at Christie's New York, 27 May 2008, lot 1861.

明嘉靖ǎ青花雲鶴紋➬ǎ雙१Ս字楷書款

ⱷ1042

AN UNUSUAL BLUE AND WHITE PEAR-SHAPED EWER 明嘉靖ǎ青花開Բ́ḵ圖執ૐǎՍ字楷書款
JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE
PERIOD (1522-1566)
10 in. (25.5 cm.) high, Japanese wood box
$18,000-25,000

For a Jiajing-marked ewer of similar form and with similar decoration on the
neck and spout, see the example illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in
the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, Book II, London, 1986, p. 657, no. 1018.
A Jiajing-marked ewer of similar form, but with kinrande decoration, sold at
Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, lot 606.

While the decoration of scholars in a terraced landscape is rarely found
on Jiajing-marked ewers, it can be found on Jiajing-marked porcelains of
different forms. A Jiajing-marked jar decorated with a similar design was sold
at Christie’s New York, 16-17 September 2010, lot 1366.
(mark)