Lot 1164
  • 1164

A rare and unusual large blue and white 'hundred boys' jar mark and period of Jiajing

Estimate
900,000 - 1,200,000 HKD
bidding is closed

Description

sturdily potted with gently rounded sides tapering to the foot and rising to high shoulders and straight neck, the exterior delicately painted in pale underglaze-blue with boys at play in a lakeside garden, setting under pine, bamboo and blossoming peony trees, and lotus flowers drifting on the rippling lake, all under a stylised cloud scroll, the neck encircled by a chain of  interlinked ruyi heads and diamonds, the base inscribed with the six-character mark within double circles   

Provenance

By repute Mayuyama & Co.

Catalogue Note

It is rare to find Jiajing jars of this form painted with the scene of the ‘Hundred Boys’ although a similar jar was sold in our London rooms, 7th June 1988, lot 241; and another jar of slightly more globular shape was sold at Christie’s London, 25th November 1974, lot 235.

The ‘Hundred Boys’ motif, commonly found on Ming porcelains, symbolizes the wish for many male sons. The scene is abundant with puns, for example the boy depicted playing with a ruyi sceptre is a wish for fortune and happiness, and the boy with a sheng (mouth organ) implies birth.