A large wucai jar and cover, Shunzhi period (1644-1661)

Lot 1379. A large wucai jar and cover, Shunzhi period (1644-1661); 19¾ in. (50 cm.) high. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. Price realised USD 12,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2013.

The baluster body is decorated with a bold design of squirrels clambering amidst leafy grapevines laden with multicolored fruit that rise from blue rocks at the foot and spread around the sides and shoulder below sprigs of rose and camellia separated by further blue rocks on the neck. The domed cover is decorated with three boys in a garden below the large finial..

Provenance: Imperial Oriental Art, New York, November 1999.

Note: A very similar wucai jar, but of smaller size (39.4 cm.), is illustrated in the S. Marchant & Son exhibition catalogue, Chongzhen-Shunzhi, Transitional Porcelain From A Private Collection, London, 2007, p. 23, no. 12, where it is dated to the Shunzhi period (1645-1661)..

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 19 - 20 September 2013