An underglaze blue decorated' Squirrel and wine' jar

Description:

China, Wanli period
D. 17 cm
Spherical, lobed shape, the neck decorated with a ribbon, the shoulder with a band of overlapping stiff leaves; the body with melons and leaves and three squirrels, above a rim of upright leaves.
From a South German private collection, acquired on 14 December 1998 from Georg L. Hartl, Munich (original invoice preserved)
Compare a very similar jar and cover, exhibited and published by the Royal Academy of Arts, London. International Exhibition of Chinese Art', 1935-36, no. 2578, see also the Stockholm Exhibition of Ming Blue and White, 1964, no. 78, p. 67 - Short crack on the rim, glaze frits to mouth