@william 

Hi William -

A well known 17th century design, sometimes combined with other auspicious fruits and/or flowers, used on wares from the Chongzhen period through to Kangxi period …

Mostly seen as part of the secondary decoration but occasionally as the main/primary composition as on these two jars. Sir Michael Buttler’s collection holds examples of both design types …

I believe Birgit has a somewhat similar jar in her collection, acquired from Xin, if my memory serves me correctly?🤔 …

Stuart 

Hi William,

Stuart is, as always, perfectly right.

I have two Transitional Gu vases with this secondary decoration. They are at the end of the fourth page of the Ming/Transitional section.

Here is the link:

https://www.xipangu.co.uk/mangialupo/?product_cat=transitional&paged=4

Regards,

Giovanni

@clayandbrush 

How very interesting!  The top part being the more traditional type of Transitional busy, figurative based art work vs. the lower section flower & fruit based decoration.  

What I found so so striking about the Paris jars was the design seemed so different from typical Transitional pieces.  Like a combination of those earlier Imperial Ming meipings with blue & white fruit designs and the colorful 18th century peach designs on Imperial vases and chargers.  All with white backgrounds that masterfully use negative space as part of the overall design.

Well remembered, Stuart 👍 Here's the jar that I bought from Xin as Shunzhi. It has a kind of apple as a third fruit but is otherwise quite comparable to the second Sotheby jar, also the same size.

Dear Birgit,

what a nice jar! I do not remember of having seen it before.

The decoration is strange, I can't identify the third fruit. Usually, in the Sanduo motif, besides peaches and pomegranates we have Buddha's hand citron, or lychee. The one on your jar is different. It would be nice to identify it exactly.

Regards,

Giovanni

Could it be the fruit of the prunus whose blossom is so often depicted?

Have looked in my files, this is what Xin writes about the pattern:

This pattern of three fruits are commonly seen on Shunzhi period pieces. These three fruits represent a general wish of abundance in longevity (peach), as well as in fertility (pomegranate) and peace (apple).

@shinigami 

That is so nice!  It is funny how certain pieces can grab our attention and interest over lots of other worthy items.  I don’t plan on bidding on the jars, I just wanted to start a enjoyable discussion on the forum and learn a few new things. 

@william I enjoyed it.

@shinigami 

Both pots sold within estimates.  The one most similar to yours went for 4410 EUR so you can have an idea of current market value of your jar.  Compared to the other Transitional wares in the sale, I think the winners got a decent buy for these quality pieces.  

Thank you William. I won’t sell mine but it’s  great to hear they can fetch such prices. Xin gave it to me for a very good price. 
I used to be a bit afraid to ask a dealer when they say „enquire for price“ on their website but have learned that the answer can be lower than expected. The same goes for Nicholas Fournery who isn’t as shockingly expensive as I thought, given his beautiful items. A good dealer can be more affordable than an auction or a bidding war on Ebay.