明永樂 藍釉梅瓶

sturdily potted with full rounded shoulders rising at a gently flaring angle from the base and sweeping to a short waisted neck with a lipped rim, the exterior applied evenly with an intense cobalt-blue glaze, thinning slightly at the rim, continuing into the interior of the neck and stopping neatly above the foot, with several splashes of cobalt-blue to the blue-tinged transparent glazed interior, the base left unglazed to reveal scattered iron spots, Japanese wood box (3)

Restoration to the body to conceal several long cracks, some possibly originally constituting breaks; and possible small losses at the rim. Light surface scratching all over.
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.

Covered overall in a vibrant cobalt, this piece belongs to a rare group of meiping that illustrate one of the first attempts at creating a monochrome blue glaze in the Ming dynasty. Vessels of this type were expensive to produce as they required copious amounts of cobalt, a rare and expensive commodity that needed to be imported from Iran. Each vase was dipped, possibly more than once, into a glaze mix containing cobalt oxide in order to achieve the distinctive dark blue tone seen on the present piece.

A meiping of this type, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is published in Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 146; one in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, is illustrated in The 15^th Anniversary Catalogue, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 180, no. 764; and a third, from the Gulbenkian Museum, Durham,  was sold at Christie’s New York, 21st September 2000, lot 296. A further example in Japan is illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu / Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 155.

This technique was first experimented with in the Yuan dynasty, although cobalt-blue vessels from this period were often decorated with designs in reserve. Compare four meiping, decorated with white dragons against a blue ground: one excavated in Yangzhou, now in the Yangzhou Museum, illustrated in Chongguo taoci quanji [Complete Series on Chinese ceramics], Shanghai, 1999, vol. 11, pl. 241; a slightly smaller example, in the Yiheyuan Imperial Summer Palace, Beijing, published in Lu Kan, ‘Yiheyuan cang Yuandai lanyou bailongwen meiping/ Blue Glazed Plum Vase with White Dragon Design of Yuan Dynasty Collection at Summer Palace’, Shoucang jia/Collector and Connoisseur, no. 10, 2008, pp. 71-2; another in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, London, 1980, vol. 4, col. pl. IV; and a fourth, of larger size, published in Wei Ziyuan ‘Yuandai gulanyou ciqi zhenyan xiaoyi [Brief discussion of real and fake Yuan dynasty cobalt-blue glazed porcelains], Shoucang Jie/ Collection World, no. 32, August 2004, pp. 27-9, figs 1-3.