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Lot Essay
Probably derived from the kendi and inspired by Middle Eastern metalwork, these elegant and extremely rare vessels were possibly made for the Middle Eastern market. Their particularly slender long spouts suggest that they may have been intended as rosewater-sprinklers rather than ewers. Another source of inspiration was probably the group of blue and white vessels of the Wanli period (1573-1619) known as 'pomegranate ewers' due to their pomegranate-shaped mouths (see Maura Rinaldi, Kraak Porcelain, A Moment in the History of Trade, London, 1989, pls. 225 - 230); their slender spouts and lobed bodies are similar to those in the present lot.
A related ewer with phoenix-head spout and with cover is in The Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, exhibited Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period: 1620-1683, China House Gallery, New York, 1984, catalogue no. 48. A pair of related Kangxi ewers with covers but with sturdier spouts and of hexagonal form were exhibited 17th and 18th Century Chinese Porcelain from Distinguished Private Collections, The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, 2000, catalogue no. 14.
A related ewer with phoenix-head spout and with cover is in The Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, exhibited Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period: 1620-1683, China House Gallery, New York, 1984, catalogue no. 48. A pair of related Kangxi ewers with covers but with sturdier spouts and of hexagonal form were exhibited 17th and 18th Century Chinese Porcelain from Distinguished Private Collections, The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, 2000, catalogue no. 14.