A tall blue and white porcelain vase of ovoid form, with a short waisted neck and a slightly flared rim. The body is divided into large lobed panels against a ground of fine scrolls. Two panels repeat the main scene: a qilin with a scaled body below a phoenix with long, sweeping tail feathers, among flowering plants, rocks and grasses. Between them, two panels each show a duck swimming among lotus and water plants, and lower down, two small pointed panels each enclose a fish among waterweeds.
A phoenix in flight among lotus and leafy stems fills the shoulder, the neck is painted with crashing waves, and a diamond band edges the rim. Round the foot, a band of slender upright panels encloses flower motifs. The blue is a deep, dark cobalt on a warm white ground, and the flat base is unglazed, showing spiral throwing marks in an orange-brown body.
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Learn more: The Yuan Dynasty
