A blue and white vase of unusual form: a bell-shaped upper body rising from a broad lower section shaped like a large bowl. The bell is painted with phoenixes in flight, their scaled bodies and long feathered tails drawn in dark blue, among scrolling peonies shown both face-on and in profile. A band of peony scroll circles the shoulder and a band of scrolls the neck. The bowl-shaped base is painted with Buddhist lions, often called foo dogs, among fluttering ribbons and auspicious objects, above a band of lappets enclosing cloud clusters. The domed cover is painted with peony scrolls and has a lobed flange and a knob finial.
The glaze has a faint blue-grey tint. The flat base is unglazed and shows throwing rings, and the inside of the cover is plain. The cover has a scratch. We attribute the vase to the early Ming dynasty.
Height 51 cm with cover, 42 cm without · Diameter 37 cm · Cover: diameter 18 cm, height 11 cm
Learn more: The Ming Dynasty
