East Asia, China, late Ming Dynasty, ca. 17th century CE. A wonderful ensemble of 5 pottery jarlets, each presenting an apple-form body, a flat shoulder, and a narrow, raised rim, all sitting upon a ring-shaped foot. All enveloped in white glaze, the exterior of each vessel boasts blue decoration, skillfully hand-painted with flower petals encompassing the rim and floral, vegetal, and avian motifs embellishing the walls. Size of largest: 2.2" in diameter x 2.3" H (5.6 cm x 5.8 cm)

During this time period, China was the great naval power of the East, with technology that surpassed anything that Europe had yet developed; this was the time of Zheng He and China's role as an international trader from the Mediterranean to the south Pacific. As the Ming period progressed, and the political conditions that had held the overland Silk Route together deteriorated, a Maritime Silk Road became more important to Chinese trade. These cups were likely from South China near Fujian and were headed to Malaysia to trade with the Dutch East India Company, when the ship sank off the coast of Binh Thuan Thailand in 1608 CE.

Provenance: private Lumberton, Texas, USA collection, acquired before 2010

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#169337

Two have chipping to rims. All have expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, all are intact and excellent with impressive remaining pigments. Largest has nice marine deposits.