A RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'BOYS' JAR MARK AND PERIOD OF JIAJING

robustly potted, the high-shouldered vessel with a short neck and everted lip, tapering to a slightly flared foot, boldly painted in a rich violet 'Mohammedan' cobalt blue with a continuous scene of a group of boys playing in a garden, one group of boys riding a hobby horse, while two others play chess, and another boy riding in a pulled cart, and still another group being tutored in reading by an older boy, all amidst wispy clouds, pine trees and plantains, set between quatrefoil panels on the shoulders containing peaches, prunus, pomegranates and peonies, alternating with auspicious emblems reserved on a wan diaper ground, and overlapping lappets skirting the foot, the underside inscribed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue on the glazed base

Min Shin no Bijutsu, ('Arts of the Ming and Qing'), Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, 1980, cat. no. 1-59. 

The overall condition is very good with no warping although there is a short 2.5 cm hairline crack from the rim (on the side with the boy riding the hobby horse). The cobalt is a little thick on the vase, which obscures the details painted beneath the blue wash (the pine needles, veining on the plants, etc), but the colour is very rich. The jar has a few minor potting flaws, and iron spots and a 1.5 cm original chip to the foot.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The imagery of children at play was a favoured theme during the Southern Song period, and was popularised by the Southern Song court artist, Su Hanchen (active early 12^th century). Characterised by shaven heads, round faces and wide eyes, this style of depicting children was carried into the Ming period, as seen on the present jar. The 'Hundred Boys' or 'children at play' theme is symbolic of the Confucian ideal for the education and advancement of many sons. The scene is abundant with puns; for example the boy playing with a ruyi sceptre is a wish for fortune and happiness, while the boy with a sheng (mouth organ) implies birth. A devout Daoist, the subject-matter would undoubtedly have appealed to the Jiajing emperor, who is recorded in the Ming Shi (Ming History) to have commissioned a Daoist rite to take place in the Imperial Garden in the eleventh year of his reign (1532) for the intended purpose of praying for the birth of imperial sons.

Closely related imperial jars of this form and decoration are held in important museums and private collections around the world; such as one in the Capital Museum, Beijing, excavated in 1980 in Beijing at Chaoyang district and illustrated in Shoudu Bowuguan zangci xuan, Beijing, 1991, pl. 121; a jar in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, included in the exhibition In Pursuit of the Dragon, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1988, cat. no. 48; and another in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, published in Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis, 1983, pl. 101. See also a jar sold in our London rooms, 8^th November 2006, lot 34; and another sold in these rooms, 10^th April 2006.

For jars of this type with covers, see one in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 9:50; and another, originally from the J.M. Hu Collection and subsequently the Jingguantang and Tianminlou Collections, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27^th November 2007, lot 1738, illustrated in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, pt. 1, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 35, together with the companion jar sold in our New York rooms, 29^th November 1993, lot 238.