This beautiful blue-and-white prestige porcelain vessel dates from the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China between the mid 14th and mid 17th centuries AD and is widely believed to be one of the most definitive and important in China’s long history. This is partially due to the fact that it was the last indigenous (Han) dynasty before the country fell into the hands of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and partly because it was led by one of only three peasants ever to rise to Chinese imperial pre-eminence. Hong Wu, the leader of the peasant revolt, founded the dynasty on the destruction of the Yuan Mongol Empire. His background and the manner in which he seized power made him almost pathologically cautious and even paranoid. His intention, influenced by Confucianism, was to create a bureaucracy-free set of agriculturally-based communities that eschewed commercial trade – which was abhorred by Confucius. Confucian perspectives on the avoidance of military development went unheeded, however. In addition to accelerating agricultural production – again, perhaps a reflection of his own experience – he increased the standing army to over one million, imposed what approximated to martial law on his people and spent a fortune building defences, notably the Great Wall of China. He also founded the Forbidden City, from which he governed China’s burgeoning population of around 200 million. Because of economic spin-offs of his agricultural policy (which provided major surpluses) untold wealth started to appear, and with it a new elite of merchant families who went on to constitute China’s first Middle Class. The arts and sciences also benefited from this largesse, as did political and – inevitably – bureaucratic policy. In many respects it was the strongest period in Chinese history, and it only collapsed because of a series of natural and economic disasters – namely the undermining of the economy by Japanese trade withdrawal, a series of crop failures and the appearance of the “Little Ice Age”. The eventual collapse of the Ming Dynasty was brought about by ultra-conservative Manchurian nomads (Manchu) who founded the Qing dynasty in 1644.

Arts and sciences flourished in the Ming Dynasty, though this was more to do with the flow of unexpected wealth from agricultural surpluses than any particular enlightenment on the part of Hong Wu or his descendents. Painters proliferated, and were very well-paid for their works; Qiu Ying was once paid 2.8 kg (100 oz) of silver to paint a long scroll. Advances were also made in wood/ivory carving, jade-working, lacquerwork, and duotone (blue-white) ceramic design and decoration. The most prestigious pieces were presented as diplomatic gifts to Europe, Japan and SE Asia; lesser works flooded the market as trade goods, giving rise to a global obsession with chinoiserie. The major production centers for porcelain items in the Ming Dynasty were Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province and Dehua in Fujian province. The Dehua porcelain factories catered to European tastes by creating Chinese export porcelain by the 16th century, often painting designs direct from bookplates, paintings or other illustrations, in order to appeal to a wider European audience. The best items remained prestige and diplomatic goods, however, as is the case with the current piece. Just as the Ming potters reformatted their wares for the European market, so they changed them for other parts of the world.

The shape approximates to that of an hourglass, with a rounded square lower section cinched at the waist to provide an altogether more sinuous pear-like upper part, tapering to a long, slim neck. The design follows this shape, with white bands at the base of the vessel, a double band at the waist, and another at the top of the neck where the floral scrollwork gives way to a cameo pattern containing a flower. The whole is decorated with floral scrollwork patterns. It is topped off with a bell-shaped silver cap with perforated, arched design. It is ambiguous in terms of cultural assignation, if one analyses it as a whole. The appearance is essentially that of a minaret, yet the painting is clearly Chinese in origin. The metal mount is Islamic in appearance. The lack of representationalist figurative design is indicative of Islamic trends, but there again this trait is not necessarily unique and there are myriad painting forms within the Chinese repertoire. It is also possible that the piece was made by an Islamic potter under the influence of early Ming pieces; the Iznik potters of Turkey are known to have done this in the late 16th century. However when one considers the nature of contemporary naval trade and relations, and also the fact that the silverware seems to be an add-on (partly obscuring the cameo design on the neck), it would seem very likely that this was a prestige piece made for the Islamic (probably Turkish) market, which was then adapted upon arrival. This is therefore a socially-important and historically significant piece of porcelain and silver. As diplomatic pieces are usually c.30cm in height, its large size makes it yet more exceptional. The preservation and colouring are perfect. This is the finest such piece that we have ever seen.