A pair of blue and white covered vases Ming dynasty, Chongzheng period c. 1640, each of octagonal baluster form, painted on the exterior with detached sprays of seasonal flowers between a band of blue-ground lappets around the shoulders and a band of pendant stiff leaves around the high slightly splayed base, a castellated border on the short straight mouth, knopped and domed covers, 36.5 cm high overall, Three similar covered vases are illustrated by Colin Sheaf and Richard Kilburn, The Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes, pl 63, p. 51. Provenance: The Collection of the late Bjarne Nielsen