明永樂 青花輪花紋綬帶耳葫蘆瓶YONGLE PERIOD (1403-1425)明永樂 青花輪花紋綬帶耳葫蘆瓶10 ¼ in. (25.7 cm.) highThe present moonflask belongs to a small group of exquisitely potted moonflasks made during the Yongle and Xuande reigns made by the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. These iconic moonflasks of the early 15-th century were inspired either by Islamic metalwork or glass models, and were made in two distinct proportions, in both plain white and blue and white. The first, smaller and rarer, such as the present moonflask, measure about 25 cm. in height, tend to have a more generous upper bulb in proportion to the lower, flattened section. For other blue and white examples from this group, see an example in the collection of the British Museum, see J. Harrison Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 110, no. 3:21, one in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 52, one from the Percival David Foundation, London, illustrated by Daisy Lion-Goldshmidt, La Porcelaine Ming, Fribourg, 1978, pl. 35, one in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, illustrated in Blue & white porcelain from the collection of Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1996, no. 31, and a Xuande-marked example from The R.F.A. Riesco collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2013, lot 3111. It is interesting to note that the Yongle vessels usually stand on an oval foot, and do not bear a mark, while the Xuande examples usually have a rectangular foot with the reign mark written in underglaze blue in a horizontal line below the mouth. The other, larger at a height of about 30 cm., tend to have a smaller upper bulb in proportion to their lower, flattened, section, see J. Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, no. 145; R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, no. 616; and three examples sold at auctions, one from the Sir Quo-Wei Lee collection, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 October 2018, lot 122, another sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2020, lot 3608, and one from the Joseph Lau collection, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2022, lot 3509. It has been suggested by some authors that these flasks, particularly the blue and white examples with decoration clearly inspired by Islamic arabesques, were made solely for export to the Islamic West. However, one crucial piece of evidence suggests that this is not entirely true. A shard from one of these flasks, bearing the same decoration as the present vessel was excavated from the Yongle/Xuande stratum at the site of the early Ming dynasty Imperial Palace in Nanjing, see A Legacy of the Ming, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 48, no. 52. It is evident that these elegant flasks were also appreciated by the Chinese court in the first half of the 15th century.Details A RARE BLUE AND WHITE MOONFLASKYONGLE PERIOD (1403-1425)The elegant flask is well potted with a flattened, but slightly domed, circular lower section and a globular upper section narrowing to a short neck and a bulb-shaped mouth. The widest part of the upper bulb is painted with a band of composite floral scroll, above the lower section painted on each side with an eight-pointed arabesque centred by a yinyang symbol encircled by petals, bordered by a half cash band around the edge. The flask stands on an oval foot flanked by a pair of strap handles on either side joining the neck and shoulders of the vessel, with petal-shaped terminals on the shoulders. All in brilliant tones of blue with heaping and piling.10 ¼ in. (25.7 cm.) high Provenance Collection of Enrico Maestrini Eskenazi Ltd, London The Meiyintang Collection Literature Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1644 Conditions of sale