A Chinese blue and white 'Elephant' kendi, Wanli

A Chinese blue and white 'Elephant' kendi, Wanli

L.: 15,6 cm - H.: 20 cm

Provenance:
Provenance:
- Vanderven Oriental Art, 's Hertogenbosch.
- The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above on 1 September 1989 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice and taxation rapport. (see added scans)

Finely modelled after recumbent elephant, the raised head turned upwards with the tusks ingeniously fashioned as spouts, the compressed body draped with a tasselled saddle cloth painted on either side with a horse standing within a fenced paddock, reserved within an octofoil panel against a blue-washed diaper ground. The back moulded with an octofoil collar incorporating three ruyi-head projections, from which rises a flared cylindrical neck painted with flowering prunus branches beneath paired crescent motifs. The details of the elephant rendered with characteristic simplicity, the eyes and facial features delicately outlined in underglaze blue.
Kendis of elephant form rank amongst the most imaginative productions of the late Ming export kilns at Jingdezhen. The form derives from the Southeast Asian kendi, a water vessel designed for pouring without a handle, adapted by Chinese potters into a variety of sculptural forms for export markets throughout maritime Asia. The elephant, long associated with strength, wisdom and peace, was particularly admired in both Buddhist and courtly contexts, while the horse depicted on the saddle cloth may allude to official success, military prowess or the exchange of tribute animals.
- Christie's New York, 21 January 2009, lot 165 for a near-identical example. (sold USD 47.500)
- Bonhams Skinner, 27 March 2023, lot 4 for a closely related example. (sold USD 25.050)
- A near-identical example is depicted on a Dutch mid-seventeenth Century still-life monogrammed 'W.K.', thought to be of the oeuvre of Willem Kalf. (See attached image, courtesy of Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Weimar.)
Literature:
- M. Rinaldi, 'Kraak Porcelain. A Moment in the History of Trade', 1989, pp. 180-181.
- R. Krahl, 'Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul', vol. II, illus. 1293-1295.
- M. Medley, 'Illustrated Catalogue of Porcelains in Undrglaze Blue and Copper Red in The Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art', illus. A665.

Condition
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