Ming Dynasty vase, scrolling lotus flowers & foliage, Chongzhen, c. 1640

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Unusual Chinese porcelain vase or ginger jar, the tall ovoid form painted in vibrant underglaze blue with scrolling lotus blooms and foliage, the base unglazed, mounted with a pierced prunus carved wooden lid.
Late Ming – early Qing Dynasty,
Chongzhen – Shunzhi,
mid-17th century

16.5cm high (excluding lid)
Excellent condition

An unusual form, the same construction as a ‘ginger jar’ but with a taller shape. Very thickly potted, with a smooth unfixed base, and (missing) drum shape lid, suggests a similar purpose as a ginger jar. An unusual shape rarely seen.

Ref. ‘Chinese Ceramics’ (He Li) #587 for a 29cm high example of this shape, complete with lid and dated to Kanxi (1662-1722), painted in typical Kanxi blue with panels on a blue ground. Examples from the early Kanxi ‘Hatcher Wreck’ circa 1640 are the same form with different decoration. Other examples come from the mid-Kanxi cargo of the ‘Vung Tau’ shipwreck, circa 1690; here there were a number of the same shape & size recovered complete with lids, catalogued as ‘barrel-shaped ginger jars with drum-shaped covers’, with typical mid-Kanxi patterns.
This example has a much softer blue, with areas of pale wash defined by darker edge lines. Along with the style of the scrolling foliage, this suggests a late Ming Chongzhen (1627-44), or early Kanxi Shunzhi date (1644-61).

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