A blue and white ewer for the Islamic market, Kangxi (1662-1722)

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Description

A blue and white ewer for the Islamic market, Kangxi (1662-1722), of pear-shaped form with curved s-shaped spout, its flattened sides rising from a stepped hexagonal foot; decorated in underglaze cobalt blue to the sides with floral boughs issuing from rockwork, amongst grasses and flying insects, the body with scattered flowerheads, the steps of the foot with bands of zig-zag ground, the handle and spout with wisps of cloud, the widening facets of the neck each with a floral sprig above a raised band of zig-zag ground, the domed hexagonal lid separated into six compartments, each containing a further spray, and surmounted by a finial.

Condition: Fritting; finial repared

Notes: A similar, but very damaged and extensively restored example without a lid sold at auction recently for €12,000.

Another similar example can be found in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (1581-1876). 

This ewer is an excellent example of a type of ware exported from China to the Middle East during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Whether it was specifically commissioned or not, like much of the porcelain made during this period for foreign markets its form adheres to local preferences and customs. Pear-shaped ewers with handles and long, curving spouts such as this were based on Islamic metal vessels known as aftaba, used with a basin for hand-washing. While harmonious and fitting with the form, the decoration of the vessel remains distinctly Chinese, with cloud motifs and floral boughs issuing from rockwork. For further information regarding porcelain vessels of this type produced for Islamic markets, please refer to a discussion of a ewer in the collection of the Topkapi Saray Museum in Regina Krahl and John Ayers Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, London: 1986 (no.2153)

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Product REF: W929