c. 1675
Comprising a larger and pair of smaller examples, each inverted baluster on spreading foot, elaborately chased with foliage on a matted ground, the larger example with stylised snake heads tied with ribbon amid scrolling acanthus and garlands of fruit, the smaller examples with a band of alternating vertical water leaves and acanthus under an applied molded rim and chased above with winged angel heads and wild masks amid fruit and ribbons, all with necks chased with vertical acanthus leaves and with removable domed covers with similar chasing; the larger with fruit form finial and smaller with baluster finials; the larger engraved underneath No. 14 and with scratch weight 12: 12; the smaller examples engraved No. 18 8 = 11 and No. 19 8 = 10 respectively.
19 x 11.4 cm (7 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.)
Private Collector [1], London, England, sold [through Sotheby's, London, 1974, lot 192]. Private Collector, Amsterdam, sold [through Sotheby's, Amsterdam, December 3, 2002, lot 39]; to [Rare Art London Ltd., London], sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2003. [1] The Covered Jars were sold as "Property of a Lady." The sale contained works from the collections of Sir George Albu, W.D.E. Allen, Sir Stephen Courtauld, Captain Sir Weldon Dalrymple Champneys, Galfry Willam Gatacre, Jennings Family, F. Naylor, and Mrs. Annesley Vachell.
Hard-paste decorated with polychrome overglaze
19th centuryGermanSancai ("three-color") ware: white earthenware with lead-fluxed clear, emerald-green, and caramel-brown glazes
8th centuryChinesePewter
18th centuryFrenchSilver, fruitwood
18th centuryBritishSmall brass cup with a European-style rosette on bottom exterior
20th centuryPersianCeramic
18th centuryJapaneseBlack earthenware with incised and openwork decoration, the surface burnished before firing. Middle and Lower Yellow River area; Shandong and Jiangsu provinces; possibly from Shandong province.
5th-3rd millennium BCEChineseCeramic
17th centuryJapanesePainted lacquer ware: black and reddish orange lacquers over wooden core. Reportedly from Changsha, Hunan province.
3rd century BCEChineseTerracotta
4th century BCEGreekEarthenware with slip-painted decoration
4th-3rd millennium BCEChineseTerracotta
6th century BCEGreek