A GILT-METAL MOUNTED BLUE AND WHITE INKWELL THE PORCELAIN MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY, THE MOUNTS LATER

of compressed barrel form, painted around the exterior in brilliant cobalt-blue tones with a leafy lotus scroll between geometric dot bands, the flat with domed and pierced central lotus boss encircled by three circular and one rectangular apertures divided by leafy composite floral sprays, gilt-bronze mounts with glass containers

This is generally in good condition, but there is fritting to various areas to the rim. There is a firing crack running along the edge of the base to the interior and there is a layer of plaster applied to the base adjacent to the gilt-bronze mount. There are some pin holes and small glaze inconsistencies to the upper surface and some pin holes and scratches to the glaze to the sides.
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.

Vessels of this shape but painted with various designs are known; for example, one decorated with fish swimming amongst water plants is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 114; and another depicting birds perched in a flowering prunus tree was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1^st April, 1992, lot 988. See also a vessel decorated with figures in a landscape, in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 9:32, where the author notes that the 'late Ming scholar Wen Zhenheng records in his Changwi Ji [Notes on Superfluous Things] that drum-shaped brush pots with holes were made to hold ink sticks and brushes. Indeed a painting of the philosopher Wang Yingming, seated at his writing desk, illustrates just such a drum-shaped brush and ink stand with brushes inserted into the holes by their bases, tip uppermost', (Ibid., p. 229).