AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'LOTUS' KENDI Late Zhengtong/early JingtaiAN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'LOTUS' KENDILate Zhengtong/early JingtaiOf compressed globular form, the sprout decorated with four of the eight auspicious emblems, the body decorated with leafy scrolling meanders bearing lotus blossoms below a border of seasonal flower branches on the shoulder, narrowing to a canted mouth, the flat base below a band of lotus petals. 10.5cm (4 1/8in) high.明正統晚期/景泰早期 青花番蓮紋軍持Provenance: A Lebanese private collection, formed circa 1950s-1960s來源：黎巴嫩私人收藏，上世紀五十至六十年代入藏Kendi is a form of pouring vessel that was produced for the domestic and export markets during the 15th century in the Jingdezhen, becoming particularly popular in Southeast Asia. Later in the 16th century it was carried farther afield to the Middle East, where Persian copies were made. The exoticism of the shape had also earned kendis a ready market in Europe during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Compare with three underglaze-red Hongwu period kendis with longer necks in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, pp.218-220, nos.202-204.扁球型腹，短頸，肩部置一小口短流，無執柄。通體青花裝飾，腹部繪纏枝番蓮紋，頸部繪有連枝四季花卉，短流上的開光内亦飾有四寶，近底處繪仰變形蓮瓣紋，每部分以弦紋間隔，平底。軍持有多種式樣，品種有青花、白釉及五彩等。此器型始於六朝隋唐，在不同的時代背景下為宗教及俗世兼用的水器，用時手握器身或瓶頸而傾。明清時於景德鎮燒製的大多外銷，十六世紀通過貿易被携往東南亞及中東國家，日本伊萬里、柿右衛門和伊朗之後皆有生產軍持。約十六世紀晚期至十七世紀早期更盛行於歐洲市場，揭示了當時中國貿易瓷的興旺。參考三件清宮舊藏明洪武年間釉裏紅軍持，頸部較高，收錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：青花釉裏紅（上）》，香港，2000年，頁218-220，編號202-204。