An extremely rare blue and white 'lotus' vase, Ming dynasty, Xuande / Zhengtong period | 明宣德 / 正統 青花纏枝番蓮紋瓶

An extremely rare blue and white 'lotus' vase

Ming dynasty, Xuande / Zhengtong period 

明宣德 / 正統 青花纏枝番蓮紋瓶

finely potted and of elongated ovoid form, the full swelling shoulders sweeping to a slightly waisted cylindrical neck, delicately painted in rich tones of cobalt blue accented with characteristic 'heaping and piling', the body with a composite scroll of four stylized lotus, each in alternating stages of bloom with pomegranate-shaped centers on a slender stem wreathed by meandering foliate scrolls, divided by trios of leaves enclosing four or five long-stemmed berries, all between overlapping plantain-leaf lappets with well-defined veins encircling the shoulders and foot, the neck with an alternating band of prunus florets and sprigs, with a recessed stepped base 

Height 9½ in., 24 cm