18TH CENTURY

The design on this jar is a Qing adaptation of a design of medallions of chrysanthemums and butterflies seen on Chenghua jars, such as the example from the Qing Court Collection illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong 1999, pl. 166. Jars of this design enjoyed particular popularity during the Qianlong period. Qianlong-marked examples include a pair in the Tianjin Art Museum, illustrated in Chinese Treasures of 5000 Years, Japan, 1985, no. 46, and another pair illustrated in Min Shin no bijutsu (The Art of Ming and Qing), Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, 1980, p. 43, no. 1-192.
 
For other 17th-early 18th century porcelains bearing apocryphal Wanli marks, see the doucai dish decorated with a dragon on the interior and a narrative scene on the exterior, illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pp. 270-271, no. 177, and the pair wucai cups decorated with ribbon-tied auspicious emblems, dating to the Kangxi-Yongzheng period, formerly in the Robert Chang Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, Magnificent Qing Monochromes from the Gordon Collection, 24 March 2011, lot 1140.