Fine Rare "Windswept" Baluster Vase
Ming Dynasty, Chenghua (1465-1487)

The decoration of the baluster shaped body is well executed in a characteristic "windswept"' style depicting a continuous garden scene with three boys holding percussion instruments and two more in conversation. The neck displays classic scroll pattern while the shoulder and foot rim display a abstract form of lotus petals.
The base is coarse and reddish due to the high iron oxide in the clay body.

CONDITION:
Fine with no chips cracks or flaws. Top rim and base exhibit normal wear due to age.

MEASUREMENTS:
Height 11 in
Shoulder 8 in
Base 4 in

SERIOUS ENQUIRIES ONLY PLEASE.

REMARKS:
Blue and white of the period had a rich and often times fatal results. Mohammedan blue was obtained from the upper African coast line, where the Arabs would use this cobalt in there renown Iznik pottery and tiles in ancient Turkey. Chinese Potter's would pay its weight in gold for this export. Local cobalt was inferior, and the purification process was not known at the time. Mohammedan blue was in a pure form, but it contained high amounts of arsenic, so braking the glass like bricks into dust to apply to a bisked pot or plate could prove fatal to the artisan, caution was strict when using it. One interesting attribute about the contents of arsenic was its reaction to the glaze during the firing process, it would heap and pile, and would separate the glaze from the thicker lines made on the decorations. It would run with the glaze due to the lack of magnesium, but the results was a depth and richness not achieved in the Ching dynasty. This is one clue to dating a piece of Ming porcelain.

REFERENCES:
Benaki Museum, Athens
Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka
Chinese Potter and porcelain, 1939, Pl, XXVIII