Ming & Earlier

Chinese porcelain blue and white wall pocket flower vase of fluted satchel form painted on the exterior in a continuous scene with a boy standing beside a giant crab between branches of bamboo, all beneath the moon and a lappet band at the rim, the reverse with a single orchid amongst long leaves, the rim unglazed, the reverse with a metalwork ring and button for hanging.

Large Chinese porcelain blue and white saucer dish painted with two sailing boats in a mountainous river landscape scene, a ferry man in each boat transporting a lady and a gentleman with attendant respectively, beneath a twelve-character poem and the moon, all within a single line, the underside with three lingzhi sprays.

Chinese porcelain blue and white sake bottle of pear shape with slender neck and gently flared rim, painted on the exterior with three leaping deer amongst stylised clouds and flames, the base glazed white.

Chinese porcelain blue and white drum-shaped shallow circular bowl with concave ogee rim painted in the centre with three wild horses amongst foliage, beneath cloud scrolls and the moon within a double ring in underglaze blue, the inner rim, outer rim and lobed edges with blue lines, the base unglazed on a shallow foot rim.

Chinese porcelain blue and white sweetmeat dish, mukozuke, in the form of a recumbent elephant on three circular feet with its head turned back, the underside moulded with the ears, eyes and tail painted to highlight the features.

Chinese porcelain blue and white sweetmeat dish, mukozuke, in the form of a recumbent buffalo, the details picked out in lines, blue wash and splashed on both sides with fukizumi, the underside moulded with the head and tail outlined, all on three short feet.

Two Chinese porcelain blue and white sweetmeat dishes, mukozuke, each in the form of a recumbent horse on four short round feet, the details painted in outline and blue wash, the underside moulded and outlined to reveal the features, mane and tail.

Chinese porcelain blue and white sweetmeat dish, mukozuke, in the form of a reclining Buddhist lion on four feet, with detailed hairwork to the tail, eyebrows and beard, painted in lines and wash, the underside moulded to reveal the features of the lion.

Chinese porcelain blue and white sweetmeat dish, mukozuke, in the form of a shell on three short circular feet, painted with a large shrimp amongst aquatic plants with lobed and ribbed shell end, heightened on both sides with fukizumi.

Chinese porcelain blue and white large saucer dish painted in the centre with a seated scholar leaning on a rockwork table, looking out at a waterfall emerging from the rocks and causing ripples on the river, all in a landscape scene with overhanging rockwork and plants beneath a cloud bank and birds in flight, all within a single line, the reverse with two birds perched amongst branches between double lines, the base glazed white.

Chinese porcelain blue and white ‘snowflake’ form deep bowl, with wide flat everted octagonal foliate rim with horseshoe indentations, painted in the centre with a flower head on a leafy branch encircled by a ribbon-tied lozenge, ribbon-tied music stones and two pairs of crossed hu tablets amongst leaves, all within a double ring, the flat wide everted rim painted with two swallows in flight between long branches with flower and leaves, all within a blue-washed border, the underside with two pairs of lozenges and pearls.

Chinese porcelain blue and white saucer dish painted with two large shrimp beside an eight-character poem, ‘qian yu Cangming, fu ruo long xing', ‘hides in the Cangming river, with a form like the shape of a dragon,’ the cavetto moulded with anhua waves, flowers and ruyi-heads, the underside painted with underglaze blue waves, the base with a six-character mark of Xuande within a double ring.

Chinese porcelain blue and white food bowl with irregular foliate rim, painted on the well of the interior with a scholar and attendant standing on a rocky promontory in a river landscape scene, all within a double ring, the deep cavetto with three insects in flight between three prunus flower heads, all beneath a blue-washed rim, the exterior with a butterfly, two insects and two prunus flowers, all on three short bracket feet.

Chinese porcelain blue and white summer mizusashi, water container, painted on the interior with two buffalo amongst clumps of grass beneath ruyi-clouds and mountains in the distance, all within a double ring, the exterior with a single rib and stripes imitating a barrel, the foot rim and base unglazed revealing the biscuit body.

Chinese porcelain blue and white large circular deep dish with flat everted rim, painted in the centre with a circular fruit within a six-pointed flower head, encircled by anhua flower heads on a scrolling branch with leaves, within a flower head band and a double ring, the rim with eight blue-ground Yamamoto family mon roundels, eight hexagonal flower head medallions and eight stylised flowers above a triangular diaper in the cavetto, all within a pale blue-washed rim, the exterior with nine flower heads, the flat base unglazed revealing the biscuit body.

Chinese porcelain blue and white hexagonal deep dish with upright sides painted with a rooster standing on a rocky promontory crowing at the rising sun, beside flower sprays and insects in flight, with cloud banks and mountain peaks in the distance, all within a single blue line and beneath a blue-washed band on the rim, the flat base unglazed.

Chinese porcelain blue and white hexagonal lobed deep dish painted in the centre with a pair of birds, one perched on a flowering peony branch, the other with open wings standing amongst rockwork looking up at its mate, amongst grasses and blue-washed flower sprays encircled by a wide hexagonal cash diaper with six flower heads of lotus, poppy, chrysanthemum, peony, pomegranate flower and tree peony, all beneath the upright brown-dressed rim.

Chinese porcelain blue and white deep saucer dish of shonzui style with fluted body, hariki petal-shape needle-point rim, painted on a blue ground with two phoenix birds, one standing beside a tree with peony blossom, rockwork, fruiting lingzhi and three precious objects, the other phoenix behind the rock looking back at its mate, encircled by six ruyi-head lappets of aster, camellia and magnolia, all beneath a brown-dressed rim, the underside with a continuous branch of morning glory flowers and buds, the base with a six-character mark of Chenghua within a double ring.