A FINE PEACHBLOOM WATERPOT 'TAIBAI ZUN'

Description:

China, Kangxi mark and period
D. 13,3 cm
The beehive-shaped vessel is beautifully formed and has a short, waisted neck. Unusually, there are no three round dragons incised on the exterior here, the glaze alternating from pink and to strawberry. Horizontally written Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue on the bottom.
Old German private collection, assembled before 1990
Waterpots of this form are known as Taibai Zun, after the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai who is often depicted leaning against a large wine vat of this shape. They are also known as jichao zun because their shape resembles that of a basketwork chicken coop that is woven with a small opening at the top through which the chicks are feed. This type of waterpots belong to a group of peachbloom vessels for the scholar's desk, known as the badama, 'Eight Great Numbers'. These sets were specially devised in these classic forms to serve as requisite appointments for the Emperor's writing table, with the peachbloom glaze specifically used for these eight shapes
The stand with very small chip at the unglazed section, otherwise good condition