A Transitional Blue and White Small Jardinierecirca 1640-1650 The exterior extremely-well painted in a continuous scene in vibrant cobalt-blue tones with 'The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' with figures variously dispersed in an outdoor setting at leisure, playing the qin , enjoying a game of weiqi , and appreciating a scroll painting, all beneath a band of upright leaf lappets at the slightly waisted neck, the slightly concave base unglazed. 9 1/8 inches (23.2 cm) diam. 十七世紀過渡期 青花花盆 Provenance: Elinor Gordon, Villanova, PA 來源： 賓州 Villanova 區，Elinor Gordon 舊藏 For an almost identical though slightly smaller blue and white jardinière, see Christie's, New York, 'An Era of Inspiration: 17th-Century Chinese Porcelains from the Collection of Julia and John Curtis, 16 March 2015, lot 3555. While the figures on our example exactly follow the poses struck by the figures on the Curtis jardinière, differences can be seen in the decoration of the robes worn by the sages. The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of eccentric scholars, rejected aspects of politics and the war-torn world in which they found themselves, in favor of leisure activities such as music and poetry, as well as philosophical discussion. They are believed to have met in a bamboo grove in Shanyang (now Henan province), in the 3rd century AD. They became symbols of the struggle of scholars against all things corrupt in the political sphere, dynastic lineage and even rejected certain aspects of both Confucian and Daoist teaching.