A fine and rare small blue and white jarlet Mark and Period of Xuande

delicately potted of compressed globular form, the rounded sides painted in a bright cobalt blue with six detached floral sprays, each with a simple five petalled flower encircled by pale blue leaves, all set between a leaf band collaring the short neck and skirting the base, the shallow countersunk base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle

A Private Japanese Collection.

The present piece is unusual for its design and shape and is notable for the fine potting and glaze characteristic of Xuande porcelain. Small enough to fit inside the palm of one's hand, it appears to derive from slightly larger Yongle jarlets of similar globular form, but with a short foot and two small loop handles. Compare a Yongle vessel also painted with five flower sprays between bands of overlapping petals encircling the foot and neck, from the T. Y. Chao collection, sold in these rooms, 18^th November 1986, lot 32; and another sold in our London rooms, 11^th December 1982, lot 319.  

Miniature blue-and-white jars of this type became popular in the 16^th century; for example compare a jarlet painted with three stylised floral panels, sold in our New York rooms, 4^th October 1974, lot 137; and a pair decorated with scholars sold at Christie's Tokyo, 16-17^th February, 1980, lot 788.

For a Xuande vessel decorated with a closely related peach spray design see a foliate cup included in the exhibition Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation,  Taipei,1998, cat. no. 13.