In contrast to the formal stylised porcelain designs seen on much Ming and Qing dynasty imperial porcelain, its freely painted naturalistic design and form would primarily have appealed to the Chinese literati. Decorated with panels of flowers, birds and ornamental rockwork, the 6in (15cm) vessel was consigned as part of a house clearance.
Following the entry into the market of several major mainland Chinese collectors in the last couple of years, there has been a price hike for the best quality blue and white Transitional period and early Kangxi porcelain. Although this example had a 1in (2.5cm) hairline crack (visible from the exterior only) that ran around the rim, it too attracted Far Eastern and UK interest. An English dealer paid the requisite £6500 for ownership against commission bids from a Hong Kong and a London dealer.
Elsewhere, a Georgian mahogany bookcase with two astragal doors and 3ft 6in (1.06m) wide elicited a winning £4000, while a three-drawer Welsh dresser base on cabriole legs headlined the furniture at £4200. A pair of Regency pine open dwarf bookcases measuring 20in (52cm) showed enough decorative appeal to sell at £1900.
Kangxi brushpot to Chinese taste
This Kangxi period (1662-1722) blue and white porcelain brushwasher was a cut above other entries in Stride & Son’s (15% buyer’s premium) 1007-lot Chichester outing.
