A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE 'LONGEVITY' SLEEVE VASE

TRANSITIONAL C.1640

The tall cylindrical body painted with Shoulao sitting with a deer and his attendants behind him, the God of Longevity watches a dance performance in a rocky mountain setting, an incense burner before him emits smoke which rises in the shape of a shou character, the scene contained within finely incised foliate scrolls, with a band of pendant leaves encircling the mouth rim, 45cm.

Provenance: from a British private collection, purchased from Christie's London on 8th November 2005, lot 15.

Cf. Cf. R S Kilburn, Transitional Wares and Their Forerunners, p.35, fig.19 for a related vase in the Ashmolean Museum dated to 1641.

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