Bidspirit auction | Pair Chinese Export Imari Apothecary

Pair Chinese Export Imari Apothecary Bottles - Pair of Chinese export Imari apothecary bottles, Kangxi ca. 1720. Each with bands of stiff-leaf tips along the neck, the bulbous body with large chrysanthemum blooms. Provenance: Christie's, New York, ”The Benjamin F. Edwards III Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain, Part II, ” 22 January 2003, Lot 15; The Distinguished Collection of Leo & Doris Hodroff. Reference: Howard, ”Choice of the Private Trader, ” pg. 204. Lot Essay: These bottles are of European form and were used for liquid medicines and made in both Japan and China. There were sometimes inscribed with the names of potential contents or of an owner. Howard points out that the ”double rings enabled a skin or parchment strip to be tied with a thong over the mouth which could then be sealed with wax.” (Shorter) Height: 9 1/2 in x diameter: 6 in. (Taller) Height: 9 3/4 in x diameter: 6 3/4 in. Condition: To the shorter vase, there are signs of wear and large losses to the gilt along the rim as well as throughout the body. There are no cracks. Some wear to the footrim. To the larger vase, there are signs of restoration and areas that fluoresce under UV light along the rim. Trace amounts of gilt remain along the lower lobe of the vase; there are large losses and signs of wear to the gilt applied along the rim. There is a chip along the footrim. Some wear to the footrim.