A Chinese blue and white vase by Ming Chongzhen. The body depicts 8 scholars in a landscape. Dimensions are: 14 1/4 inches tall X 6 1/2 inches wide, 36.20 cm X 16.51 cm. All measurements are approximate.

This vase has an open mouth, a long neck, a round body, and a tall foot ring. The neck is decorated with tulip patterns. The body is painted with a scene of seven sages resting inside a bamboo forest. The composition of the illustration is neatly arranged and layered. The neck and the body are divided by a ring of tangled flora. The glazed body is tinted with a faint blue, with the warm, crisp cobalt blue evenly applied onto it. The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest is a famous ancient tale. In the illustration on the vase, the scholars sit on the ground, some leisurely exchange literature with each other, some drink tea, some chant poems, and some wave their fans. the scene overall is finely illustrated- the stones and trees look natural; the characters look vivid; even the folds of the clothes are meticulously depicted. In the late Ming Dynasty, with the shutdown of Imperial kilns due to the unstable political environment, folk kilns prospered. During this period, the boundary between Imperial ware and commoner’s ware was blurred, and scholars also joined in the handicraft industry, revitalized the production of porcelain wares. This vase is masterfully crafted, and is one of the finer pieces among the porcelain wares of Chongzhen period. A similar example can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection as number 2736-1852. Similar examples have been sold at Sotheby's London in November, 2012 as lot 042 and at Christie's New York in September, 2016 as lot 1344.
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明崇禎 青花竹林七賢長頸瓶

此瓶撇口，長頸，圓鼓腹，高圈足。頸部飾郁金香紋，腹部繪竹林七賢，構圖錯落有致，層次分明，頸腹之間以一圈纏枝花紋間隔。釉面白中泛青，青花色料采用土青，呈色穩定，青花發色青翠艷麗。竹林七賢是古代著名典故，此圖中所繪文人雅士們席地而坐，悠閑地相互切磋文學，或品茶，或吟詩，或撫扇，好不怡然自得。山石樹木細致入微，人物形象生動，衣褶折疊錯落處尤見功力。晚明時局動蕩，官窯停燒，給民窯生產帶來蓬勃生機。此時期不存在官、民之間的明顯界限，文人階層也介入手工業生產，製瓷工藝方面也開創了一個新局面。此件作品畫工細膩傳神，釉質清瑩，時代特征明顯，應是崇禎時期的佳作。

參閱阿爾伯特博物館館藏，編號2736-1852。另可參閱蘇富比拍賣2012年11月倫敦拍賣，編號042；佳士得拍賣2016年09月紐約拍賣，編號1344。
品相良好
Good condition.
來自佐治亞州亞特蘭大資深收藏家。
From an esteemed Atlanta, Georgia collection. Lots 312 to 322 are from the same collection.