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Lot Essay
Waterpots of this form are known as taibai zun, after the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, who is often depicted leaning against a large wine jar of similar form. They are also known as qizhao zun because their shape resembles that of a chicken coop. Such waterpots belong to the group of eight peachbloom wares for the scholar's desk, the 'Eight Great Numbers', ba da ma, of which a complete set is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by S. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989 (rev. ed.), p. 237. Another complete set of eight from the Jingguantang Collection was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3 November 1996, lot 557.
Similar waterpots can be found in many important museum collections including the Palace Museum, Beijing; the Percival David Foundation, London; and one was included in the Hong Kong Museum of Art exhibition, Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, 1976, no. 52.
Similar waterpots can be found in many important museum collections including the Palace Museum, Beijing; the Percival David Foundation, London; and one was included in the Hong Kong Museum of Art exhibition, Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, 1976, no. 52.