JIAJING FOUR-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1522-1566)

The present jar and cover belong to a rare group of Jiajing blue and white vessels decorated with an almost identical auspicious design. The cover is inscribed with the character fu 福 (good fortune), while the shoulder bears the character shou 壽 (longevity), each incorporated into the surrounding floral decoration. The cover is surmounted by a lively squirrel-form finial, and the body is densely painted with peony scrolls. Together, these motifs express wishes for prosperity, longevity, fecundity, and the continuation of the family line, as the squirrel was associated with prolific reproduction, while the peony traditionally symbolized wealth and honor. Such imagery may be understood within the broader context of the Jiajing Emperor’s concern with dynastic succession, particularly following the emperor’s repeated loss of male heirs, which lent motifs associated with fertility and the wish for sons particular popularity during the period.

A closely related Jiajing jar and cover, formerly in the collection of Lolita Armour Higginson (1896-1976), was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 20 March 1990, lot 532, and subsequently at Bonhams New York, 17 March 2025, lot 21. Another in the Huahaitang Collection, lacking its cover, is illustrated in Enlightening Elegance: Imperial Porcelain of the Mid to Late Ming, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 180–1, no. 39. It is noteworthy these two jars, and the current jar, all bear the same four-character Jiajing nian zhi 嘉靖年製 mark on the base, arranged in a distinctive cruciform configuration.