Lot 58251. Hermès 35cm Matte Nuage Alligator Birkin Bag with Palladium Hardware. R Square, 2014. Sold for $87,500. Photo Heritage Auctions

DALLAS, TX.- A collection of coveted Hermès handbags swept the top eight spots in Heritage Auctions' Holiday Luxury Accessories Auction Dec. 7-8 in Dallas, Texas. Hermès bags claimed 55 of the top 56 lots in the auction, which realized a total of $2,078,508. 

"This was a good auction for us with strong prices being realized for leather bags, though the most exceptional and rare pieces are still selling the strongest," Heritage Auctions Consignment Director and Specialist for Luxury Accessories Max Brownawell said. "Collectors today are focusing more and more on obtaining what they cannot find elsewhere and curating their collections. They come to our auctions because we offer the best and rarest bags on the market." 

A Hermès 35cm Matte Nuage Alligator Birkin Bag with Palladium proved to be the top lot, bringing in a winning bid of $87,500. The bag, with two rolled handles, Palladium hardware and a flap top with a turnlock closure, has an interior in matching Nuage Chevre leather with one zip pocket and one slip pocket and includes two keys, a lock and a clochette.  

A Hermès Extraordinary Collection 32cm Diamond, Shiny Braise Porosus Crocodile Sellier Kelly Bag with 18-Karat White Gold Hardware took runner-up honors, realizing $75,000. The bag has a cadena lock made of 68.4 grams of 18-karat white gold and encrusted with 40 VVS F white round brilliant diamonds totaling 1.64 carats. The plaques feature 182 VVS F round brilliant diamonds, and the interior is done in braise chevre leather, featuring one zip pocket and two slip pockets. 

Lot 58171. Hermès Extraordinary Collection 32cm Diamond, Shiny Braise Porosus Crocodile Sellier Kelly Bag with 18K White Gold Hardware. L Square, 2008. Sold for $75,000. Photo Heritage Auctions

Competitive bidding drove a Hermès 28cm Shiny Fuchsia Nilo Crocodile Sellier Kelly Bag with Palladium Hardware up to $45,000. The bag, done in shiny niloticus crocodile, has one top handle, one removable shoulder strap, palladium hardware and a flap top with a turnlock closure. The interior is done in matching fuchsia chevre leather, with one zip pocket and two adjacent slip pockets. 

Lot 58144. Hermès 28cm Shiny Fuchsia Nilo Crocodile Sellier Kelly Bag with Palladium Hardware. J Square, 2006. Sold for $45,000. Photo Heritage Auctions

Others in the front running group of Hermès handbags were: 

Lot 58104. Hermès 32cm Shiny Colvert Porosus Crocodile Sellier Kelly Bag with Gold Hardware. X, 2016. Sold for $43,750. Photo Heritage Auctions

Lot 58117. Hermès 32cm Shiny Bourgogne Nilo Crocodile Sellier Kelly Bag with Gold Hardware. X, 2016. Sold for $40,000. Photo Heritage Auctions

Lot 58223. Hermès Limited Edition 35cm Barenia Leather & Osier Wicker Picnic Kelly Bag with Palladium Hardware. O Square, 2011. Sold for $40,000. Photo Heritage Auctions

Lot 58267. Hermès Special Order 35cm Shiny Black & Ficelle Porosus Crocodile Birkin Bag with Gold Hardware. G Square, 2003. Sold for $36,250. Photo Heritage Auctions

Lot 58261. Hermès 25cm Black Nilo Lizard Birkin Bag with Palladium Hardware, K Square, 2007. Sold for $32,500. Photo Heritage Auctions

The only lot among the top 10 that was not a Hermès bag was a Chanel 18K White Gold, Diamond & Cultured Pearl Lady's Watch, which realized $31,250. The watch, which is made of 18-karat white gold, features a black onyx casing, 295 EFG-range diamonds weighing a total of 1.98 carats and a cultured pearl and diamond band with a clasp closure. 

Lot 58262. Chanel 18K White Gold, Diamond & Cultured Pearl Lady's Watch. Sold for $31,250. Photo Heritage Auctions

Rounding out the top 10 – or top 11 – were a pair of handbags, each of which fetched a winning bid of $30,000. The first was a Hermès Limited Edition So Black Calf Box Leather Kelly Pochette Bag with PVD hardware, tying a Hermès 32cm Shiny Blue Saphir Alligator Sellier Kelly Bag with gold hardware.

Lot 58255. Hermès Limited Edition So Black Calf Box Leather Kelly Pochette Bag with PVD hardware. N Square, 2010. Sold for $30,000. Photo Heritage Auctions

Lot 5811. Hermès 32cm Shiny Blue Saphir Alligator Sellier Kelly Bag with gold hardware. E Square, 2001. Sold for $30,000. Photo Heritage Auctions

Lot 2948. A pair of blue and white floral dishes, Kangxi six-character marks within double-circles and of the period (1662-1722). EstimateHKD 50,000 - HKD 80,000 (USD 6,500 - USD 10,000). Price realised HKD 100,000 (USD 12,898). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

Two similar dishes each with deep rounded sides rising to the slightly everted rim, the interior painted with three large chrysanthemum blossoms borne on leafy stems, two birds perched on a prunus branch aside, a band of stylised leaves below the rim, the exterior encircled with three sprays of finger citron, peach and grape - 6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm.) diam., box (2)

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 November 2011, Hong Kong

Lot 2950. A blue and white gu-shaped beaker vase, Kangxi six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1662-1722). Estimate HKD 250,000 - HKD 350,000 (USD 33,000 - USD 45,000). Price realised HKD 500,000 (USD 64,488). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

The trumpet neck finely painted with a scene of a lady kneeling before a dignitary, with his two attendants beside him, while a second lady peeps out from behind a large screen, the bulbous waist encircled by a scene of boys at play above the scene of the dignitary leaving the house with his attendants - 17 in. (43.4 cm.) high, stand, box 

Lot 2953. A rare inscribed blue and white bowl, Yongzheng six-character and juesheng changzhu marks within double-circles and of the period (1723-1735). Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000 (USD 52,000 - USD 77,000). Price realised HKD 560,000 (USD 72,227). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

The bowl with rounded sides rising to steeply flared sides to the upright mouth rims, finely painted around the sides in vibrant tones of colbalt-blue with simulated 'heaping and piling' to depict a band of scrolling lotus flowers borne on a undulating vines, growing foliage to the sides, above a band of lappets surrounding the ring foot, the interior medallion with a single lotus spray emerging from a ruyi fungus, bordered by double-circles, repeated on the inner and outer mouth rim, the underside base with the six-character reign mark written in three lines and additional four characters, Juesheng Changzhu on the four corners double-circles - 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm.) diam.  

Provenance: Previously sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 24 November 1987, lot 60 and sold again 15 May 1990, lot 137 

This rare and historically significant imperial bowl bears an interesting four-character inscription, arranged with one character at each of the four corners of the normal six-character Yongzheng mark on its base. The four characters read: Jue sheng chang zhu, and these provide a clue both to the precise date of the bowl within the Yongzheng reign, and the location for which the bowl was intended. Literally jue sheng may be translated as 'awakening' or 'consciousness', while chang zhu can either refer to a Buddhist priest who does not leave his monastery, or simply mean 'to stay in one place for a long time'. In this case the reference is to the Juesheng Temple (the Temple of Awakening), the building of which was commissioned by the Yongzheng emperor in the 11th year of his reign (AD 1733). The temple was completed in 1735, and a stone tablet above the main gate to the temple, edged with dragons rising from water and flying through clouds, is inscribed by the Yongzheng emperor 'The Juesheng Temple Built by Imperial Order'. The temple was located in what was then Zengjiazhuang village - a place of rural tranquillity just outside the Xizhi Gate of the city wall surrounding Beijing.

The Yongzheng emperor was a devout Buddhist, and from an early age engaged in meditations lasting several days in order to achieve a higher level of consciousness. He also wrote a discourse, in which he defined his understanding of 'awakening', which can be seen in Yongzheng yuzhi fujiao dadian. Part of this was carved on a large stone stele in the Juesheng Temple. The temple was only completed shortly before the Yongzheng emperor's death, but his successor, the Qianlong emperor, also wrote an essay, which was carved on the other side of the stele. Interestingly, in the same year in which he commissioned the building of the Juesheng Temple, the Qing tongjian records that the Yongzheng emperor convened a large meeting of Buddhist dignitaries, at which he personally undertook teaching sessions. Indeed in the latter years of his life the Yongzheng emperor convened several such meetings of Buddhist scholars in order to produce collections of Buddhist scriptures, one of which, Yuxuan yulu, he personally edited, writing introductions for each of the chapters. 

The Juesheng temple was an important temple during the Qing dynasty where, from the time of the Qianlong emperor onwards, the emperor himself and other members of the imperial family and the court came to pray for rain in ceremonies that could last several days. In 1783 an imperial order was sent to have nine Buddhist monks chant the 'Great cloud requesting rain sutra' for seven continuous days (Evelyn S. Rawski, The Last Emperors - A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions, Berkeley/Los Angeles/London, 1998, p. 225), while in 1787 the temple was officially designated as a site at which to pray for rain. 

This beautiful bowl, therefore, represents an important imperial project close to the heart of the Yongzheng emperor, which was to become part of court life and worship during a major part of the Qing dynasty.

Base fragment in bamboo mount, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Chenghua emperor (1465-1487), China, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration. H. 1 in x Diam. 8 1/2 in, H. 2.54 cm x Diam. 21.6 cm. Gift of Roy Leventritt, B69P25L © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture.

This base of a ware with an unglazed back shows traces of a fine-grained paste with reddish orange tint. A fragment of an honorary plaque, it celebrates the Daoist master magician, Zhang Tianshi, who worked in the south during the Yuan dynasty. This subject, obscured by legend, is portrayed on diverse Chinese artifacts through many dynasties. The master, here emblazoned with the sacred halo, is accompanied by his four heavenly guards and a tiger. With the placement of the deity and all of his guardians in a wind-blown landscape, the picture attests to the remarkable development of drawing on porcelain of the time, in which figures were translated into a series of different poses, in keeping with the artists' notions of narrating a story.

Bowl with greenish glaze after the Song-imperial style, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Chenghua emperor (1465-1487), China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, Porcelain with greenish glaze featuring brown crackles, H. 2 in x Diam. 4 7/8 in, H. 5.1 cm x Diam. 12.4 cm, The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P1477© 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

Due to the extreme difficulty in technique and the high cost of agate-containing materials in the Song Ru glaze, Ming official kilns did not make a large quantity of Ru-type wares (see cat. no. 76). Most were modeled after official celadon wares of the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), from the kilns in the then capital Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), where the ceramic programs and technical foundations were built upon the Ru kiln system. A new prosperity that ensured a peaceful realm, coupled with a well-developed taste for ceremonial products, resulted in a greater fashion for jadelike glazes during the Southern Song. The glazes were more varied in tones than ever before. Greenish or bluish glazes became thinner around the mouth rim as they flowed downward during firing, revealing a darker color. The edges of the foot ring, where the glaze had been wiped off before firing, turned a gray color afterward, imparted by the heavy iron oxide content of the regional clay. These two features, known as the "purple-colored mouth and iron-colored foot," were continuously reproduced for the next four hundred years.

This six-foliated bowl shares similarities with official Southern Song celadon ware, especially in its grayish green glaze and crackle patterns. However, its glaze is obviously more vitreous than that of the official Song celadon, and its brown-colored mouth and iron-colored foot are the result of an artificially colored slip deliberately applied around the rim and foot, rather than a more expensive traditional glaze. The absence of high-iron-content clay in Jingdezhen prevented Ming porcelain producers from engaging in greater experimentation with form and glazes.

Dagger (Jambiya), ca. 1825–50, Iranian. Steel, ivory. L. 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm); L. of blade 10 1/4 in. (25.9 cm); W. 2 5/16 in. (5.9 cm); Wt. 14.3 oz. (405.4 g). John Stoneacre Ellis Collection, Gift of Mrs. Ellis and Augustus Van Horne Ellis, 1896. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 96.5.138 © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

While figural representations are uncommon in Islamic art outside of painting, human figures are regularly encountered in Iranian art from the Qajar period (1797–1925), which was strongly influenced by European models. The ivory grip of this dagger is carved with the figure of a Sufi mystic, who is identifiable from his pointed hat, staff topped with a hoopoe (an exotic bird mentioned in the Qur'an), and beggar’s bowl suspended on his arm. One of the carved inscriptions alludes to the weapon’s power: “The handle of your dagger is world-seizing.”

Knife and Sheath, India, 18th century. Silver; gilded, enameled, and set with rubies over foil and turquoise; 7 in.. Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.821a, b © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Tray of Jeweled Daggers, Turkish, probably late 19th century. Steel, jade, gold, emerald, diamond, ruby. L. with sheath 22 1/4 in. (56.5 cm); L. without sheath 20 3/4 in. (52.7 cm); L. of blade 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm); W. 2 13/16 in. (7.1 cm); D. 7/8 in. (2.2 cm); Wt. 14 oz. (396.9 g); Wt. of sheath 9.7 oz (275 g). Gift of Giulia P. Morosini, in memory of her father, Giovanni P. Morosini, 1923. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 23.232.3a, b © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

This opulent array of daggers belongs to a large group of flamboyant gem-studded weapons that were probably made in Istanbul in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Their traditional shapes and luxurious materials were intended to evoke romantic notions of the exotic orient, Arabian Nights, or perhaps the sultan’s treasury. As most of these weapons are found today in American and European collections rather than in Turkish museums, they may have been made exclusively for Western tourists.

Plate with dragons, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Zhengde emperor (1506-1521), China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze decoration. H. 1 3/4 in x Diam. 9 in, H. 4.5 cm x Diam. 22.9 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P1719 © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture.

Chinese and Japanese Ceramics for European Markets
Chinese ceramics were first brought to Europe by land traders traveling the Silk Road. By the Renaissance, European painters had begun to include depictions of Chinese ceramic wares in some of their portraits as a way of conveying the wealth and refined taste of their subjects. This practice was a testament to the long and lively exchange between China and the West. By the early seventeenth century, stoneware teapots from Yixing were brought back to Europe by Dutch sea traders along with shipments of tea. The interesting shapes and relief decorations of these pots had a strong influence on the English manufacturer Wedgwood along with other European stoneware makers.

European traders commissioned vessels in traditional Western shapes, but they also noted and were influenced by characteristic China wares. European stonewares and porcelains from Delft in the Netherlands and Meissen in Germany as well as from some English factories were sometimes modeled on Chinese originals.

With the shift of trade from land to sea, Japanese models joined the earlier Chinese ones as influences on European manufacturers. In 1639 the Dutch East India Company, a trading company active in Asia since 1602, acquired exclusive trade rights from the Japanese government. Thus began the company's profitable business carrying exotic goods to Japan and shipping Japanese porcelains, lacquer wares, and other goods back to Europe. The Dutch East India Company's monogram, VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie), sometimes appears on these objects.

Bowl with dragons, one of a pair, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Zhengde emperor (1506-1521). China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with incised and green enamel decoration against white ground. H. 3 1/4 in x Diam. 7 3/8 in, H. 8.2 cm x Diam. 18.7 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P2078.1 © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture.

Zhengde mark of the period. The six-character mark at the base reads: "Produced during the Zhengde reign of the great Ming."

Exhibition: San Antiono Museum of Art

Dagger (Kard) with Shealth. Blade, Iranian, dated 1738–39; hilt and scabbard, Turkish, 19th century. Steel, gold, rock crystal, ruby, emerald. H. with sheath 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm); H. without sheath 18 1/4 in. (46.4 cm); H. of blade 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); W. 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm); D. 7/8 in. (2.2 cm); Wt. 9.5 oz. (269.3 g); Wt. of sheath 6.2 oz. (175.8 g). Gift of Giulia P. Morosini, in memory of her father, Giovanni P. Morosini, 1923. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 23.232.4a, b © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The blade of watered steel is chiseled in the same high-relief style as another in the Museum's collection that was made in the Iranian city of Shiraz in 1732–33. This example, dated 1738–39, is also probably Iranian and appears to have been mounted in Turkey in the early nineteenth century.

Dagger with Sheath, Turkish, 19th century. Steel, gold, jade, diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald. L. with sheath 17 9/16 in. (44.6 cm); L. without sheath 15 15/16in. (40.5 cm); L. of blade 11 3/16 in. (28.4 cm); W. 2 5/16 in. (5.9 cm); D. 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); Wt. 9.7 oz. (275 g); Wt. of sheath 5.3 oz (150.3 g). Gift of Giulia P. Morosini, in memory of her father, Giovanni P. Morosini, 1923. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 23.232.6a, b © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This dagger belongs to a large group of flamboyant gem-studded weapons that were probably made in Istanbul in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Their traditional shapes and luxurious materials were intended to evoke romantic notions of the exotic orient, Arabian Nights, or perhaps the sultan’s treasury. As most of these weapons are found today in American and European collections rather than in Turkish museums, they may have been made exclusively for Western tourists.

Lot 65. Cameo with a portrair of Queen Elizabeth I, English, circa 1570. Estimate 7,000 — 10,000 GBP. Lot sold 27,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's

chalcedony, set in a later gold mount - cameo: 23mm., 15/16 in., 28mm., 1 2/16 in. overall (excluding hoop)

Note: In contemporary depictions of Queen Elizabeth's courtiers they are often shown wearing cameo portraits of the queen which were presented to her favourites as ambassadorial gifts; note in particular the painting by Robert Peake, Queen Elizabeth going in procession to Blackfriars in 1600, illustrated by Strong (op.cit., plate I)..

RELATED LITERATURE: R. Strong, Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, Oxford, 1963, pp.128-133; R. Strong,  The Cult of Elizabeth, London, 1977; A. Somers-Cocks, "Intaglios and Cameos in the Jewellery Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum", Burlington Magazine, vol. CXVIII, 1976, pp. 366-376; Princely Magnificence: Court jewels of the Renaissance, 1500-1600, exh. cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, nos. 32-33.

Sotheby's. Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art Including Highlights from the Reinhold Hofstätter Collection, London, 06 Dec 2016

Lot 66. Cameo with a portrair of the Roman emperor Galba, French or Italian, circa 1575. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 GBP. Lot sold 12,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's

entitled: GALBA - chalcedony, within a white and black enamelled gold mount, suspended with a later drop pearl -8.9cm., 3 1/2 in. overall

Note: This handsome cameo, distinguished by the precise handling of the stone's strata to reveal a finely rendered portrait in the brown layer, which strongly contrasts with the polished plain white background, relates to three others documented in princely cameo collections and dated to the second half of the 16th Century. The first is the ‘lady in a vail’ from the collection of the Earl of Arundel, purchased as part of the group from the Gonzaga’s in Mantua circa 1620, later entering the Marlborough gem collection, and now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, dated to 1550-80 (inv. no. A.45-1978). Two others are the cameos of Antoninus Pius and Attila, part of the Imperial Habsburg collection, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (see E. Kris, Die Kameen im Kunsthistorischen Museum, Vienna, 1927, nos. 344, 345, pl. 50) dated to the 16th century. Such cameos were long thought to be Italian but have more recently been suggested by the late Rudolf Distelberger as originating from Paris (see R. Distelberger, Die Kunst des Steinschnitts, Vienna, 2002, nos. 132-133, 135). Whether the cameo was carved in Paris or not, there is strong evidence of Italian influence: the image of Galba can be related to 16th Century Italian bronze plaques, in particular see an example in the Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 09.194.25b) and another from Padua (see G. Toderi, Medaglie e Placchette del Museo Bardini di Firenze, Florence, 1998, no. 258) and also contemporary prints, for example, those of Marcantonio, circa 1520, and Angelo del Moro, circa 1550.

As one of the twelve Caesars, Galba was evidently much sought after by eminent collectors. Other equally distinguished renaissance examples of Galba cameos are in the Cabinet des Medailles, Paris (inv. no. 13-504403); the Arundel-Marlborough gems, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. A.31-1937); and an example in the British Museum (inv. no. 1867,0507.515).

Sotheby's. Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art Including Highlights from the Reinhold Hofstätter Collection, London, 06 Dec 2016

Cup stand, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Hongwu emperor (1368-1398). China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze decoration, youlihong ware. H. 1 in x Diam. 7 1/2 in, H. 2.5 cm x Diam. 19.1 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P1214. © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

The short, raised, circular edge at the interior center of this work indicates its function of supporting a tea cup. The central peony branch, encircled by a floral-panel band and a six-chrysanthemum scroll, is further accented by eight lotus sprays on foliated sides and a foliate leaf band on the edge. The outside is painted with a meandering band on the lip edge and lotus panels on the lobed sides. A couple of extant works of this type reveal consistent features: the decorative motif and manner, a refined but rather thick body, and the brownish tonality of the red on a light, grayish white glaze. The latter defers to the Yuan ivory-like white glaze. The drawing, however, is stiffer than that of the Yuan (Shoudu Mus. 1991: pl. 86; Shanghai Mus. 1987: pl. 39).

Vase with a dragon, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Hongwu emperor (1368-1398), China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze copper decoration. H. 18 1/2 in x Diam. 8 3/4 in, H. 47 cm x Diam. 22.2 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P1235. © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

Impressive for its large scale, fine white paste, and vibrant three-clawed dragon in crimson red, this vase is one of only two known examples of this type, along with a similar piece in the Shanghai Museum (Ma Chengyuan et al. 1991, p. 38). On the opposite sides of the two pieces is a corresponding pair of dragons seemingly in dialogue with each other. The pair of vases served as a rare type of ceremonial vessel produced by the Hongwu emperor's official kiln in Jingdezhen. This style of dragon—with short, straight horns, wavy hair, and strong legs with fungus-headed, long-tailed feelers—remained a primary porcelain motif from the thirteenth through fourteenth centuries.

The form of the vase, with a pear-shaped body and two elephant-head handles ending in a loose ring, recalls an ancient form of ritual bronzes. Two white-glazed porcelain vases of similar design have come to light, one from the tomb of General Song Sheng (died 1407) in Nanjing (Nagoya Municipal Government 1989, p. 41, pl. 43), and the other from the Yongle kiln strata in Jingdezhen (Urban Council et al. 1989, p. 125, pl. 21). This particular shape attained new heights in early Ming porcelain. Painted designs, undertaken first on a potted body, were covered with clear glaze for firing. The copper-containing pigment often appears dull, grayish, or diffused. Most surviving early Ming wares with underglaze copper red are dishes and bowls. The uniqueness of the type and the technical achievement in color establish this vase as one of the most important official productions of the time.

Following an essential prescribed step for all new rulers, Zhu Yuanzhang asked fengshui masters for guidance in choosing a symbol for his new reign. Since Zhu originated from the south, his astrological fortune was predicted as falling into a movement along the southern cosmic order, controlled by hot, bright power. This prediction in turn related to fire among the five elements (earth, water, fire, metal, and wood). Based on his fate and communal relationship with the cosmic elements, Zhu chose Hong, meaning "grand" or "vast," for part of his reign name. Hong can also mean "red," a symbol of fire that was associated with passionate will and utter independence. More important, red implies his surname:zhu is the Chinese term for cinnabar. The color red therefore came to appear widely in Ming art.

Bowl with flower scrolls, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Hongwu emperor (1368-1398). China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze copper decoration, Youlihong ware. H. 4 1/4 in x Diam. 8 in, H. 10.8 cm x Diam. 20.4 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P2111. © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture