A BLUE AND WHITE 'MYTHICAL CREATURES' VASE XUANDE SIX CHARA...

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Hammer

£9,500

Fees

A BLUE AND WHITE 'MYTHICAL CREATURES' VASE
XUANDE SIX CHARACTER MARK, KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)
康熙青花‘瑞獸’圖紋瓶
sturdily potted and made of fine white clay this vase has an elongated baluster body rising from a splayed foot supported on a shallow foot ring and a trumpet neck. The glaze on the exterior is exceptionally shiny and smooth. Because it is as slender as Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, it is often called a “Guanyin vase”. This shape was very popular during the Kangxi period.

This rare vase is decorated in shades of inky blue with a continuous view of animals and mythical beasts romping among pine trees as clouds swirl above. The menagerie includes an elephant, two tigers, a rabbit, a horse, deer, Buddhistic lions, dragons and qilin. The underside is decorated with an under glaze six character Xuande mark within a double circle.
48.2cm high

PROVENANCE: Acquired from Christie's New York, “The Hodroff Collection, Part II Chinese Export Porcelain from the Collection of Leo and Doris Hodroff”, 23 January 2008, Lot 230.

Leo and Doris Hodroff

Together Leo and Doris Hodroff created one of the largest and finest collections of Chinese export porcelain, which later became the subject of Ronald W. Fuchs II and David Howard’s book "Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur". They also made significant gifts of export porcelain to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Norton Museum of Art, the Peabody Essex Museum and the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum. In 2007 - 2009 Christie’s New York held several sales for them that encompassed pieces from Tang dynasty pottery to modern Chinese painting.