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Lot Essay
Originally this would have been the base of a large vase. The thickness of the top indicates the vase would have been of large size, heavily potted and quite thick-walled. For a large vase with very similar foot (and cut-down neck) see J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pp. 138-9, no. 4:37, where the author describes how during the Xuande period the upper and lower sections of large pieces were joined together in a method to make them more stable during firing. This was done by having a projection in one section that fit into a corresponding groove in another section.