A cloisonné enamel 'shou' ewer and cover, Ming dynasty, Jiajing period

English Private Collection.

Originating with Islamic metal ewers, the form of the present piece was widely adopted during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) with reproductions made in various materials, see, for example, several gold, silver and jade ewers, excavated from Ming tombs, illustrated in Yang Zhishui, 'Jinpingmei cihua zhong de jiu shi' [About wine in the novel Jin Ping Mei], Forbidden City, Beijing, 2016, pls. 21, 22 and 31. 

The characteristic raised heart, or peach-shaped medallion on the body is in Chinese literature sometimes described as representing a ginkgo leaf. This specific design is detailed in the Qing book Tianshui bingshan lu [A record of heavenly waters melting the iceberg], which lists the property of the wealthy but fallen Ming Senior Grand Secretary Yan Song (1480-1567). Ewers with such medallions decorated with lotus, like the present piece, are termed jinlian xingye hu (ginkgo leaf lotus decoration ewers).

Another 16th century cloisonne ewer of the same precise form, decorated with cranes and incised with a Jiajing six-character mark, but lacking its cover, was sold in our Paris rooms, 11th June 2019, lot 78.

Compare also a cloisonne ewer from the E.T. Chow (1910-1980) collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 612, and exhibited in Chinesisches Cloisonné. Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, 1985, cat. no. 97, from the Pierre Uldry Collection; another decorated with the mythical beast qilin, in the British Museum, London is illustrated in Harry Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, London, 1970, pl. 42; and one decorated with the Eight Buddhist Emblems, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, published in Basil William Robinson, Chinese Cloisonné Enamels, London, 1972, pl. 4. Compare also a related piece with pear-shaped body and hexagonal rim, included in the exhibition Cloisonné. Chinese Enamels from the Yuan Ming and Qing Dynasties, Bard Graduate Center, New York, 2011, cat. no. 58. Another Jiajing cloisonne ewer and cover 78 from the collection of Dr Kenneth Lawley was sold in these rooms, 1st November 2023 lot 78.