AN IMPERIAL MING BLUE AND WHITE JAR

JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER MARK WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD

Details

AN IMPERIAL MING BLUE AND WHITE JAR
Jiajing Six-Character Mark within a Double Circle and of the Period
Of squat baluster shape, painted in a continuous design around the body in a blue of rich violet tones with two five-clawed dragons amidst scrolling chrysanthemum between simple pendent lappets at the foot and ruyi-heads at the shoulder
5.5/8in. (14.3cm.) high

Provenance

John Henry Levy Esq.
Sotheby's London, 8 July 1975, lot 123

Lot Essay

Jiajing blue and white porcelain is characterized by bold design in rich violet-blue tones. The present lot possesses these qualities and also exhibits a typical design pattern of two dragons among floral scrolls in the central band, ruyi decoration on the neck and upright petals on the foot. For a very similar jar bearing a Longqing mark, see Y. Mino and J. Robinson, Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis, 1983, pp. 258-159, pl. 103.