A FAMILLE-VERTE GARLIC MOUTH 'FISH AND AQUATIC PLANT' VASE MING DYNASTY, WANLI PERIOD

of compressed globular form supported on a slightly flared foot, sweeping up to a tall waisted neck and garlic mouth, freely decorated in underglazed-blue, iron-red, yellow and green enamels with a variety of fish and crustaceans swimming among aquatic plants above a bed of low weeds emerging from the water, between a 'classic' scroll around the foot and a foliate scroll encircling the shoulder, the neck decorated with two blossoming prunus branches covered with maroon and green bark, the bulging mouth picked out with pendent petal lappets in alternating iron-red and yellow enamels, the rim decorated with a band of key-fret interrupted by a cartouche inscribed in underglaze blue with an apocryphal six-character Xuande mark

Sotheby's London, 13th December 1988, lot 186.

The vase has been sympathetically restored, with overpainting and retouching of the design to areas of losses, and spraying to the interior and areas of the exterior of the mouth. There are two stained cracks emanating from the rim, the more severe crack extending vertically below the central bands, where it forks into two diagonal cracks. There is also a bruise to the glaze.
"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."

Wucai vases of this form with related decoration but Wanli reign marks around the rim are in the Schlossmuseum, Berlin, illustrated by Robert Schmidt, Chinesische Keramik von der Han-Zeit bis zum XIX. Jahrhundert, Frankfurt am Main, 1924, pl. 69, with similar borders around the neck and foot, and in Min Shin no bijutsu [Ming and Qing art], Tokyo, 1982, pl. 118.