JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1522-1566)

According to Daoist, double gourds have served as vessels for concocting and storing elixirs of immortality. During the Jiajing reign, the imperial kilns produced vases of such shape in great quantity, directly reflecting the emperor's profound Daoist faith and personal pursuit of eternal life. Most Jiajing examples are decorated in underglaze blue, the present lot is exceptionally rare with additional yellow and iron-red enamel. Its complexity of manufacture likely accounts for its rarity: the underglaze-blue floral scrolls were first fired at a high temperature, after which the yellow was applied and fired at a lower temperature, followed by the iron-red details of the peonies in a third firing. This process not only demonstrates technical virtuosity but also resonates with Daoist cosmological principles aligning colour with the five elements.

Comparable examples include two vases in the British Museum, illustrated in Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, 2001, pls. 9:88 and 9:89. A nearly identical vase, formerly in the Ataka Collection, is in the Osaka Museum of Oriental Ceramics, accession no. 805. Another related example from the Ise Collection was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 September 2025, lot 5054.