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Lot Essay
This exquisite jar is finely decorated in vivid shades of cobalt blue with two sprays of loquat, a spray of peach, and a third stylized spray, which may represent crab apple. All of these motifs symbolize longevity. The loquat is particularly auspicious in that it embodies the four seasons: as it buds in autumn, blossoms in winter, sets fruit in spring, and ripens in summer. It is also associated with gold because of its golden yellow color (see T. Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 117, no. 5.18).
This design is extremely rare, and no other comparable blue and white jar from the Xuande period appears to have been published. A Chenghua-marked jar and cover of this design is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and is illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum – Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book III, Hong Kong, 1963, pp. 28-9, pl. 4. Several related small Xuande-marked jars have been published, but all with different decoration. These include a jar of similar size decorated with fruit sprays, but with a lobed body and petal-lobed borders, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2018, lot 2906, and an example from the Tianminlou Foundation, decorated with a winged dragon between bands of waves, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain from the Collection of Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1996, no. 35 and subsequently sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 April 2019, lot 4. A slightly smaller (7 cm.) unmarked blue and white jar dated to the Yongle-Xuande period and decorated overall with turbulent rolling waves between a foliate scroll around the shoulder and a narrow band of circles set against a pale blue wash around the foot, was sold in The Pilkington Collection of Chinese Art; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 18.
The Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735) had a keen interest in antiques, passionately collecting and studying material from earlier dynasties. His extensive interest in ancient artworks is reflected in two scroll paintings entitled Guwan tu, "Pictures of Ancient Playthings," which act as inventories, depicting antiques in the Imperial collection during his reign. One such scroll is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the other in the Percival David Collection is now housed in the British Museum. The scroll in the Victoria and Albert Museum depicts two small blue and white jars very similar to the current example. In fact, one of the jars depicted in the scroll (Fig. 1) is strikingly similar to the current jar, leading to the possibility that it may be the example illustrated in the scroll.
This design is extremely rare, and no other comparable blue and white jar from the Xuande period appears to have been published. A Chenghua-marked jar and cover of this design is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and is illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum – Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book III, Hong Kong, 1963, pp. 28-9, pl. 4. Several related small Xuande-marked jars have been published, but all with different decoration. These include a jar of similar size decorated with fruit sprays, but with a lobed body and petal-lobed borders, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2018, lot 2906, and an example from the Tianminlou Foundation, decorated with a winged dragon between bands of waves, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain from the Collection of Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1996, no. 35 and subsequently sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 April 2019, lot 4. A slightly smaller (7 cm.) unmarked blue and white jar dated to the Yongle-Xuande period and decorated overall with turbulent rolling waves between a foliate scroll around the shoulder and a narrow band of circles set against a pale blue wash around the foot, was sold in The Pilkington Collection of Chinese Art; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 18.
The Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735) had a keen interest in antiques, passionately collecting and studying material from earlier dynasties. His extensive interest in ancient artworks is reflected in two scroll paintings entitled Guwan tu, "Pictures of Ancient Playthings," which act as inventories, depicting antiques in the Imperial collection during his reign. One such scroll is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the other in the Percival David Collection is now housed in the British Museum. The scroll in the Victoria and Albert Museum depicts two small blue and white jars very similar to the current example. In fact, one of the jars depicted in the scroll (Fig. 1) is strikingly similar to the current jar, leading to the possibility that it may be the example illustrated in the scroll.