A well painted Ming style blue and white Meiping vase, Qing dynasty, with Qianlong seal mark (1736-95).
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The shouldered baluster body painted with detached fruiting sprays of lychee, pommegranate, and peach beneath differing flowering sprays, the shoulders encircled by a lappet band beneath foliate sprigs on the waisted neck, the underglaze-blue of rich inky tone with simulated 'heaped and piled' effect. Height 33,5 cm.
Crack.
Provenance
From the Collection of Wilhelm Montelius (1852-1918), thence by descent. The Montelius family had a long family tradition of being lawyers, Wilhelm however became the Director of Swedish Telephone company Ericsson from 1901 -1916, and his brother Oscar Montelius (1843-1921) became archaeologist and member of the Swedish National Heritage Board. Wilhelms passion for collecting oriental ceramics and works of art was aided by Ericssons business in China at the time. Before World War One he managed to send out his staff to acquire several important pieces. See also lot 1620-1621, 1695-1696 with the same provenance in this sale.
Literature
Macintosh, Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, col.pl. IX (top left): A Qianlong vase of this pattern is illustrated.
Also compare a pair included in the Exhibition of Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of The T. Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong, 1978, Catalogue no. 79.
Also compare one from the Edward T. Chow Collection sold at Sothebys, May 19th 1981, Lot 546.
More information
For the fifteenth century origin of this design, compare the vase included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Yongle Ware, pl 12.