Porcelain & Works of Art

Chinese porcelain ko-akai, wucai, dish of flower form, with foliate rim, painted with a scholar and his attendant crossing  a bridge in a river landscape scene, the scholar carrying a staff while the attendant carries a wrapped qin, all beneath iron-red clouds and the sun with an overhanging flowering tree, heightened in green, yellow, aubergine and iron-red enamels with underglaze blue, all beneath a brown-dressed rim.

Chinese porcelain blue and white circular deep bowl, thinly potted with upright sides, painted on the exterior with two pairs of dragon and phoenix medallions, one dragon in pursuit of a white flaming pearl, the other in pursuit of a blue-glazed pearl, whilst one phoenix bird in flight looks back and the other forward, between lotus flower heads on stylised interlinked branches beneath further lotus flowers, all between underglaze blue double lines, the interior painted in the well with a similar pair of lotus flower heads interlinked  beneath a ji character, auspicious, within a double ring, beneath a band of lotus flower heads and branches.

Chinese imperial porcelain blue-glazed altar vessel and cover, dou, modelled after an archaic bronze with moulded and carved archaic designs, the upright body with ribs and bands all on a splayed, ribbed foot, the cover with a design of scrolls, fretwork and registers of stylised waves beneath a double-rope twist openwork finial, covered overall including the interior and underside in a deep and even blue glaze.

Chinese pale celadon circular openwork jade box, the pierced cover carved with a long-tailed crested pheasant looking back amongst flowering prunus branches and intricately serrated-edge leaves, all encircled by an archaic-style dragon border, repeated on the box base.

A Chinese pale celadon jade ewer of pear-shape, carved in the archaic style with a wide band of incised scrolls, beneath a raised band of double scrolls, all beneath a keyfret band at the rim, with openwork chilong dragon handle, with his head and front right paw at the rim, all on a splayed foot with high-relief bands, the interior well hollowed.

Chinese pale celadon and mottled jade box, deeply carved as a finger citron with high relief branches, leaves and smaller finger citron, attached with an integral loose ring between openwork gnarled branches.

Chinese porcelain white-glazed anhua decorated cylindrical brushpot, incised on the body with butterflies in flight amongst bamboo, flowering peony and daisies issuing from rock work, all between bands of stylised crested waves at the foot and a continuous scrolling flowering branch with leaves beneath the glazed rim, the underside with the smooth, pure white biscuit revealing the body.

Chinese porcelain cylindrical brushpot with grooved upper edge painted on slightly raised white slip in underglaze blue and copper-red with five images of Kui Xing in different poses holding pen and bushell measure, a book or prunus spray at his feet, on a celadon ground, the glazed base rim and central circular recess separated by a wide biscuit rim.

Chinese taupe, russet, white and mottled jade carving of two recumbent cranes, each nuzzling the other and both holding a gnarled fruiting peach branch in their mouths, the long leaves reaching down the back of the darker crane, the stone of the pebble revealing the russet edge, the claws neatly tucked underneath and detailed work to the feathers.

Chinese imperial porcelain underglaze blue and copper-red bottle vase with tapered baluster body, chang jing ping, tall cylindrical neck and lipped rim, painted with an open-mouthed three-clawed chilong dragon encircling the body, the scales in underglaze copper-red.

Chinese imperial porcelain yellow-glazed two-handled wine cup, erbei, thinly potted and incised on each side with a continuous anhua band of archaic style dragons facing each other with open mouths, between a pearl, all on a short foot rim and covered overall in an even pale-yellow glaze, pooling on the foot rim between two upright loop handles with curled ends, the interior glazed white.

Chinese imperial porcelain green dragon dish, pan, with gently flared rim, the design outlined in underglaze blue, painted in the centre with a five-clawed dragon in green glaze, in pursuit of a flaming pearl amongst stylised flames and ruyi-clouds within a double line, encircled by two further similar dragons, the underside similarly decorated, with the dragons above a lappet band.

Chinese imperial porcelain white-glazed waterpot of beehive form, taibaizun, with gently flared lipped rim, moulded and carved with three relief archaic style dragon and phoenix medallions, covered overall in an even sweet-white glaze. The base with a six-character mark of Kangxi in underglaze blue and of the period, 1662-1722.

Chinese imperial porcelain blue and white slender necked baluster vase, of handbell form, yaoling zun, painted on the body with four circular medallions consisting of three bands forming the gankyil, “Wheel of Joy”, above stylised upright pointed leaves with scrolls and a wide herringbone band at the gently flared foot, the shoulder with a single rib within two lines.

Chinese imperial porcelain blue and white dragon bowl, wan, thinly potted with gently rising upright sides on a short foot rim, painted with two five-clawed dragons with detailed scales and open mouths, each in pursuit of a flaming pearl, amongst stylised flames, the interior glazed white.

Chinese imperial porcelain iron-red dragon bowl, wan, thinly potted with gently rising upright sides on a short foot rim, painted with two five-clawed iron-red enamel dragons each in pursuit of a flaming pearl amongst ruyi-clouds and flames, the dragons’ eyes heightened in black enamel, the interior glazed white.

Chinese imperial porcelain famille verte birthday dish, pan, with flat everted lipped rim, painted in the centre with Lady Magu standing holding a scroll looking back at her attendant with a large peach, beside a tethered mythical deer drawing a wheeled square jardinière supporting a fruiting lingzhi group, encircled by twenty iron-red flowerheads on a hexagonal diaper ground between four-character medallions, wan shou wu jiang, “endless longevity”.

Chinese imperial porcelain famille verte month cup, hua shen bei, thinly potted with gently flared rim on a short foot, painted with orchids amongst long green leaves growing from rockwork with branches and grass, the reverse with a ten-character couplet and square seal in underglaze blue.