WANLI PERIOD (1573-1619)

Details

A BLUE AND WHITE 'POMEGRANATE' EWER
WANLI PERIOD (1573-1619)
The bulbous lower body is decorated with vertical panels enclosing leafy flower blossoms beneath a key-fret border at the base of the slender neck. The curved spout is decorated as a branch with molded leaves. The exterior of the flaring, star-form mouth rim is decorated with cicadas.
6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

Special notice

Please note that this lot is subject to an import tariff. The amount of the import tariff due is a percentage of the final hammer price plus buyer's premium. The buyer should contact Post Sale Services prior to the sale to determine the estimated amount of the import tariff. If the buyer instructs Christie's to arrange shipping of the lot to a foreign address the buyer will not be required to pay the import tariff, but the shipment may be delayed while awaiting approval to export from the local government. If the buyer instructs Christie's to arrange shipping of the lot to a domestic address, if the buyer collects the property in person, or if the buyer arranges their own shipping (whether domestically or internationally), the buyer will be required to pay the import tariff. For the purpose of calculating sales tax, if applicable, the import tariff will be added to the final hammer price plus buyer's premium and sales tax will be collected as per The Buyer's Premium and Taxes section of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The popular name for this type of kendi is 'pomegranate’ ewer, owing to the distinctive star-shaped mouth rim. A similar ewer in the Fondation Custodia (Coll. F. Lugt), Institut Néerlandais, Paris, is illustrated by Maura Rinaldi in Kraak Porcelain, A Moment in the History of Trade, London, 1989, pl. 277, where the author suggests a date of circa 1595-1610 for this type of kendi. A related ‘pomegranate’ ewer, from the collection of John and Julia Curtis, sold at Christie’s New York, 16 March 2015, lot 3500.

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