A Chinese cloisonné-enamel 'Shou' pear-shaped wine ewer and cover Ming dynasty, 16th/17th...

A Chinese cloisonné-enamel 'Shou' pear-shaped wine ewer and cover

Ming dynasty, 16th/17th century

Finely enamelled on either side with blue, red, and yellow dragons flanking a peach-shaped 'Shou' medallion amongst polychrome clouds and above a band of breaking waves above the foot, the handle, spout and cover decorated with scrolling flowers, the cover and handle joined by a fine chain, 23.5cm high.

明十六/十七世紀 銅胎掐絲琺瑯壽字紋執壺

Originating in Islamic arts, the shape of ewer of the present lot was widely used in China throughout the Ming dynasty across various mediums, from porcelain to jade and gold; see, for example, several gold, silver and jade ewers, excavated from Ming tombs, illustrated in Yang Zhishui, 'Jinpingmei cihua zhong de jiu shi' [About wine in the novel Jin Ping Mei], Forbidden City, Beijing, 2016, pls. 21, 22 and 31. The peach- or heart-shaped medallion on the body is sometimes described in Chinese literature as representing a ginko leaf.