£13,750
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art | 682
Auction: 13 May 2022 at 11:00 BST
二十世紀 青花花卉紋大扁壺
sturdily potted with a flattened spherical body with a domed side, painted with a band of floral scroll within a band of crashing and swirling waves, the centre further raised with a domed boss decorated with an Islamic eight-pointed star, set with a short cylindrical mouth on the top and flanked by two ring handles, the base unglazed with a countersunk central recess
Note: It is rare to find a flask of this form, possibly after a metal shape. The large, flat expanses and sharp angles natural to a metal shape are difficult to translate into porcelain clay, which tends to warp and crack during firing. A number of Chinese porcelains were made of this form during the Ming dynasty that show the influence of Islamic artefacts, probably inspired by Islamic metalwork. There is a slightly larger Syrian brass canteen, dating to the early-15th century, in the collection of the Freer Gallery, Washington, accession number F1941.10. This porcelain form of vessel may have been made for a Chinese clientele fascinated by Islamic metalware forms.
Some comparable blue and white flasks dated to the Ming dynasty: one of 41.8cm wide is in the collection of Freer Gallery of Art, accession number F1958.2; a slightly smaller one of 36.5cm width with different decoration on the central boss is in the collection of National Palace Museum Taipei, no. 故瓷11643; a further example sold at Christie's London on 6 Nov 2007, lot 156