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Lot Essay
The elegantly potted body is with a waisted base and rounded shoulders that rise to a short neck, with the exterior painted in a vibrant sapphire-blue tone with a continuous leafy peony scroll enclosed by two double-line borders. The shoulder is further adorned with a lotus meander, while the neck is encircled by a cresting wave band. The base is framed by an upward rectangular lotus panels, each enclosing a ruyi pendant.
This classic jar is an exceptional example of Yuan dynasty porcelain, distinguished by the remarkable vibrancy of the cobalt blue and its considered composition. The decorative bands are skilfully arranged to complement the vessel's form, featuring a particularly bold and effective main band of leafy peony scroll. Furthermore, the painters have brilliantly executed the tonal gradations of the cobalt, imparting a vivid sense of movement and three-dimensionality to the motifs.
Classic jars of this type are limited in surviving numbers, in part due to the generous application of precious cobalt oxide- a rare and costly import from the Middle East during the Yuan period. What elevates the present jar further is its refined scale; slightly smaller in proportion than other known examples, it benefits from a tightly executed composition and heightened rarity. Unusually, the cresting wave band around the neck is rendered with a distinct, highly painterly expression, marking this as a vessel of extraordinary quality and individuality.
Compare with a similar jar in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Art of Yuan Blue-and-White Porcelain, Shanghai, 2012, no. 7 (fig. 1), which features an additional classic scroll between the lotus scroll and the lappet band. The Palace Museum, Beijing, houses another comparable jar in its collection, decorated with a floral scroll at the neck instead of a wave band, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 7, no. 6 (fig. 2).
Further comparisons can be made to two closely related examples, both larger in scale than the present jar (35.5 cm. wide): first is painted in a darker tone of blue, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3307 (fig. 3); the second painted in a lighter tone of blue was from the collection of Sakamoto Goro, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 October 2024, lot 613.
This classic jar is an exceptional example of Yuan dynasty porcelain, distinguished by the remarkable vibrancy of the cobalt blue and its considered composition. The decorative bands are skilfully arranged to complement the vessel's form, featuring a particularly bold and effective main band of leafy peony scroll. Furthermore, the painters have brilliantly executed the tonal gradations of the cobalt, imparting a vivid sense of movement and three-dimensionality to the motifs.
Classic jars of this type are limited in surviving numbers, in part due to the generous application of precious cobalt oxide- a rare and costly import from the Middle East during the Yuan period. What elevates the present jar further is its refined scale; slightly smaller in proportion than other known examples, it benefits from a tightly executed composition and heightened rarity. Unusually, the cresting wave band around the neck is rendered with a distinct, highly painterly expression, marking this as a vessel of extraordinary quality and individuality.
Compare with a similar jar in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Art of Yuan Blue-and-White Porcelain, Shanghai, 2012, no. 7 (fig. 1), which features an additional classic scroll between the lotus scroll and the lappet band. The Palace Museum, Beijing, houses another comparable jar in its collection, decorated with a floral scroll at the neck instead of a wave band, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 7, no. 6 (fig. 2).
Further comparisons can be made to two closely related examples, both larger in scale than the present jar (35.5 cm. wide): first is painted in a darker tone of blue, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3307 (fig. 3); the second painted in a lighter tone of blue was from the collection of Sakamoto Goro, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 October 2024, lot 613.