A LARGE BLUE AND WHITE BALUSTER VASE

Details

A LARGE BLUE AND WHITE BALUSTER VASE
XUANTONG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD

Of broad baluster shape with slender spreading foot and bulbous upper section, painted on the body in vivid tones of underglaze blue with a continuous pattern of lotus-head scroll borne on leafy tendrils, all below a band of peach clusters alternating with shou characters at the short cylindrical neck, a band of stylized upright lappets encircling the foot - about 17 in. (42.5 cm.) high

Lot Essay

Compare a similar vase dated Ch'ing Dynasty with a five-character inscription in a panel on the neck, illustrated in Catalogue of Old Oriental Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, 1853, no. 285. The inscription reads Kunninggong ji qi, and may be translated as "Sacrificial vessel for use in the Palace of Earthly Repose". The Kunninggong, or Palace of Earthly Repose, is one of the major structures along the central axis of the plan of the Forbidden City