A blue and white 'lotus bud' necked vase Ming Dynasty, Late 15th Century

the well potted pear-shaped body rising to a lotus bud shaped mouth with raised overlapping layers of petals, the body painted in classic contrasting tones of dark cobalt-blue with lotus blooms on meandering leafy stems, between two stylised lotus flower bands, the neck decorated with lotus florettes and flanked by a pair of scrolling lotus leaf handles, the splayed foot encircled with florets