A 'JIZHOU' WAVE-PATTERN MEIPING YUAN DYNASTY

the elongated ovoid body with a short neck and lipped rim, set above rounded shoulders tapering to a narrow foot, painted with an overall design of large waves, with plain brown borders to the top of the shoulder and at the foot

Collection of Francisco Capelo.

Francisco Capelo et. al., Forms of Pleasure. Chinese Ceramics from Burial to Daily Life, London, 2009, pl. 52.

This rare vase is in good overall condition with the exception of some re-touching to small flaked areas localised to a 4 x 2cm., section on one side of the body and a 6 x 1cm., section of the shoulder, a T-shaped hairline surface hairline around the shoulder, minor chips and nibbles around the footring, and minor firing imperfections and scratches.
"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."

Vases decorated in this free painterly manner are amongst the finest examples of wares manufactured at the Jizhou kiln site at Yonghezhen near Ji'an in Jiangxi province, formerly known as Jizhou. Although Jizhou wares can be rough in their potting and are often sprinkled or splashed in an amber colour or use the sgraffiato technique for decoration, this vase is finely painted and is covered with a thin transparent gloss that makes it especially attractive.

A slightly larger meiping with the same stylized cresting wave pattern, from the collection of Eugene and Helen Bernat, was sold in our New York rooms, 7^th November 1980, lot 119; and another is illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 13,  Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 288, in the Buffalo Museum of Natural Science. This decorative motif can also be found on 'Jizhou' bottle vases, for example see a pair excavated at Nanchang city in Jiangxi province, illustrated in Wenwu , 1975, no. 3, pl. 5, no. 5; and another sold in these rooms, 12^th June 1990, lot 179.

Compare a 'Jizhou' meiping painted with figures in four barbed panels againt a crested wave ground, excavated from a tomb site at Lanshi, Foshan in Guangdong province and now in the Guangdong Provincial Museum, published in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 8, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 220.