An rare and important 'kinrande' double-gourd vase Ming Dynasty, Jiajing Period

of octagonal section and elegant proportions, the lower half painted on each side with a vertical quatrefoil panel enclosing an iron-red quatrefoil cartouche within green borders and reserved on a cash diaper ground, held within a further rectangular panel with scroll bracketed corners, above a band of lappets skirting the foot enclosing upright five-petaled leaves, the broad sloping shoulders enclosing horizontal iron-red panels reserved on a hatched diaper ground, rising to an iron-red painted cinched waist supporting a smaller facetted lobe similarly decorated with quatrefoil iron-red panels reserved on a  Y-patterned diaper ground below a keyfret band set between two green lines encircling the slender neck

Collection of Admiral Lartigues circa 1914.
Collection of Mme Irene Roberts, Nimes, by descent.

This vase has recently been restored where there was once a horizontal break around the luting line at the belly with a 30 cm U-shaped crack extending across three sides. The removed staples on each side reveal the old repairs. The mouth has been reduced slightly and has been covered up by paint. There are traces of gilding on the edges of the panels and borders. The vase has a slight lean. There are minor paint flakes and a bruise 1/4 inch wide to the shoulder of the lower section. It is in overall good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Kinrande decoration became popular during the Jiajing period (1522-66) and wares decorated in the kinrande style were extensively produced. Kinrande, a Japanese term for gold brocade, refers to textiles woven through with gold thread creating a luxurious golden pattern on a colored ground. The technique of gold decoration on porcelain was not an innovation of the Ming dynasty, however; some rare porcelains from the Ding kilns of Hebei were in the Song dynasty already embellished with gold. 

Similar vases are known with slight variations in detail and in different sizes. Two similar large vases are known with an additional flower scroll at the neck, one in the Hakutsuru Art Museum, illustrated in Koyama Fujio, A Selection of Outstanding Kinrande Porcelains in Japanese Collections, n.p., n.d., pl. 13, the other sold at Christie's London, 12th June 1989, lot 184.

Two smaller vases of similar form with differently shaped panels have a lotus scroll on the neck: one from the collection of Louis van der Heyden, was sold in our Tokyo rooms, 1st-3rd October 1969, lot 226; the other from the Bernasconi Family collection was sold at Christie's London, 6th June 1988, lot 131. Two other smaller vases are known with differently shaped panels, one illustrated in Koyama, op.cit., pl. 30, its companion piece from the Norton collection sold in our London rooms, 26th March 1963, lot 65.

Koyama also illustrates a tall kinrande gourd-shaped vase of circular section, op.cit., pl. 22, as well as a large kinrande jar, pl. 11, and several smaller gourd-shaped vases, pls. 2, 16, 24, all similarly decorated.