The ewer is modelled as a crayfish rising from crashing waves with carp and lotus amongst the waves. One lotus stem curves upwards to form the slightly serpentine spout. Another lotus stem forms the loop handle terminating in a half-lotus pot as the filler with a small flat cover with frog finial. The exterior is covered in ochre, green and aubergine glazes.
8¹⁄₄ in. (21 cm.) high

Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art, the Netherlands, 31 October 2002.

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Lot Essay

A sancai-glazed biscuit ewer of this form was amongst the group of Oriental ceramics given by Ferdinand de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, to the Dresden Court in 1590, and was entered in the inventory of the Kunstkammer of the Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden, in 1594 (see U. Pietsch, A. Loesch and E. Ströber, China Japan Meissen, The Dresden Porcelain Collection, Dresden, 2007, p.13.). Such ewers were also made in the late Ming Dynasty both for use in the domestic Chinese market and also for export to Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia where they were used for wine in ritual ceremonies and where several examples still remain. Other similar examples can be found in several western museum collections, including the Rijksmuseum, the British Museum, and the Bauer Collection, as well as the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
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This lot has been imported from outside the EU for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on the invoice. Please see Conditions of Sale for further information.