Provenance
The collection of Tatsuo Hirano, Japan.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the base, acquired from the above in Autumn 1997.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 1998 and accompanied by a copy of their taxation report. (see added scan)
Exhibited & illustrated:
S. Marchant & Son, London. Included in their June 1998 exhibition of 'Two Hundred Years of Chinese Porcelain 1522-1722', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, p. 53, no. 36.
Marchant, London, illustrated in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', Vol. I, inside front cover and pp. 455-456, fig. 840, where the author notes: 'The second piece was a very rare blue and white Wanli ewer in the form of a crayfish, which was also exhibited in 1998. This piece was placed in the window during the exhibition, which encouraged a European couple to come into the gallery and make their first purchase at Marchant. They became very great patrons and are referred to anonymously as Mr. and Mrs. Egret.'
Description
Finely modelled in the form of a crayfish emerging from stylised waves amidst flowering lotus plants, the crustacean’s segmented body forming the vessel. The spout is rendered as a curving lotus stalk, while the filling aperture takes the form of a lotus seed pod. The original cover, replaced by a Japanese silver cover, would have been fashioned as the upper section of the lotus pod and secured by means of the notched rim, still visible.
Crayfish-form ewers rank among the rarest zoomorphic vessels produced at the kilns of Jingdezhen during the late Ming period. Although variously described as crayfish, lobster or shrimp in the literature, the present example belongs to a small and distinctive group of sculptural blue and white ewers and kendis celebrated for their imaginative naturalistic modelling. Such vessels were highly prized both within Asia and by European merchants and travellers, who eagerly collected unusual porcelain forms for export to the West.
Comparable examples are rare. A near-identical example, dated to the Wanli period, is in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum and illustrated by W.S. Sargent. It also has a replacement cover and the tip of the spout has been repaired with gilded lacquer, also suggesting a Japanese provenance. Another comparable example was formerly in the collection of the Markgraf von Baden at the Neue Schloss, Baden-Baden.
Reference:
W. S. Sargent, 'Treasure of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum', p. 53, no. 5 for the above mentioned example.
Lot 8
Wanli/Tianqi
L.: 15,6 cm - H.: 19,9 cm
incl. cover
Estimation
€ 20.000,00 – € 40.000,00
Provenance
The collection of Tatsuo Hirano, Japan.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the base, acquired from the above in Autumn 1997.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 1998 and accompanied by a copy of their taxation report. (see added scan)
Exhibited & illustrated:
S. Marchant & Son, London. Included in their June 1998 exhibition of 'Two Hundred Years of Chinese Porcelain 1522-1722', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, p. 53, no. 36.
Marchant, London, illustrated in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', Vol. I, inside front cover and pp. 455-456, fig. 840, where the author notes: 'The second piece was a very rare blue and white Wanli ewer in the form of a crayfish, which was also exhibited in 1998. This piece was placed in the window during the exhibition, which encouraged a European couple to come into the gallery and make their first purchase at Marchant. They became very great patrons and are referred to anonymously as Mr. and Mrs. Egret.'