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Lot Essay
This is a very rare example of an early Ming dynasty jar, which is based upon the facetted meiping vases of the late Yuan period, such as that in the Percival David Foundation, illustrated by R. Scott in Imperial Taste: Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 1989, p. 48-9, no. 23. Other Yuan vases of this type are known in the collection of the Zwinger Palace, Dresden illustrated in Farbige Glasuren auf Porzellan,1990, no. 11; in the Philadelphia Museum of Art illustrated in Ice and Green Clouds, Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1987, no. 82.
A further example of the Yuan dynasty meiping type from the Eumorfopoulos collection is now in the British Museum, London and is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 5, Kodansha, 1981, pl. 75. A similar meiping vase, which, like the current jar, has all its panels reserved in biscuit is in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 9, Kodansha, 1981, fig. 77.
The current jar may also be compared to a large Yuan 14th century octagonal jar, which has flowers and auspicious characters in relief on its facetted sides, but which is fully glazed with a Longquan celadon glaze. This jar has an octagonal lid and is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, and illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 1, Tokyo National Museum, Kodansha, 1982, pl. 106. The current Ming dynasty jar may therefore be seen as having developed from the Yuan dynasty facetted meiping with reserved panels, and the fully glazed facetted jars.
A further example of the Yuan dynasty meiping type from the Eumorfopoulos collection is now in the British Museum, London and is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 5, Kodansha, 1981, pl. 75. A similar meiping vase, which, like the current jar, has all its panels reserved in biscuit is in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 9, Kodansha, 1981, fig. 77.
The current jar may also be compared to a large Yuan 14th century octagonal jar, which has flowers and auspicious characters in relief on its facetted sides, but which is fully glazed with a Longquan celadon glaze. This jar has an octagonal lid and is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, and illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 1, Tokyo National Museum, Kodansha, 1982, pl. 106. The current Ming dynasty jar may therefore be seen as having developed from the Yuan dynasty facetted meiping with reserved panels, and the fully glazed facetted jars.