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A RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL VASE, ZUN
- XUANDE PERIOD (1426-1435)

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A RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL VASE, ZUN
XUANDE PERIOD (1426-1435)
Estimate
(Set Currency)
    £200,000 - £300,000
  • ($303,600 - $455,400)

Sale Information

Sale 7847
Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
11 May 2010
London, King Street

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Lot Description

A RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL VASE, ZUN
XUANDE PERIOD (1426-1435)
Of archaic bronze form, finely enamelled with multi-coloured stylised lotus-heads borne on leafy stems against a rich turquoise ground, the interior of the mouth similarly decorated with a lotus scroll above ten incised gilt upright plantain leaves, the trumpet neck, drum-shaped mid-section and spreading foot divided by four evenly-spaced flanges
7¼ in. (18.5 cm.) high

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VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.

Pre-Lot Text

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY

Lot Notes

An almost identical vase, also dated to the Xuande period, but bearing a Jingtai mark incised at a later date, is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and is illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, vol. 10, p. 162, no. 299. Another strongly constructed 15th century beaker vase with serrated flanges and a more stylised design of lotus unusually executed with double-line stems, is illustrated by H. Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, London, 1962, p. 56, fig. 18, formerly part of the author's collection; and another, of slender proportions, but in the same decorative style as the present lot, is illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, Zurich, 1989, p. 92, pl. 25.

The scrolling lotus design is a decorative motif often found on cloisonné enamel ware of the Ming dynasty, and in the 15th century, the lotus flower manifested itself in a wide variety of styles. There are four different types of lotus flowers in striking colour combinations on the present zun. The floral motif is further echoed by the gilt petal-shaped panels enclosing the lotus sprigs around the exterior of the trumpet-shaped neck.

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