A FINE AND RARE CHINESE CLOISONNE ENAMEL EWER AND COVER probably Ming, decorated with shaped panels of landscapes and foliage, the spout and handle embellished with foliage and vines. 32 cm x 22 cm. Note: See Lot 2868 Guardian Auctions China for an identical ewer sold RMB 2,242,500. Originating with Islamic metal ewers, the form of the present piece was widely adopted during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) with reproductions made in various materials, see, for example, several gold, silver and jade ewers, excavated from Ming tombs, illustrated in Yang Zhishui, 'Jinping Mei cihua Zhong de jiu shi' [About wine in the novel Jin Ping Mei], Forbidden City, Beijing, 2016, pls. 21, 22 and 31.The characteristic raised heart-, or peach-shaped medallion on the body is in Chinese literature sometimes described as representing a ginkgo leaf. This specific design is detailed in the Qing book Tianshui bingshan lu [A record of heavenly waters melting the iceberg], which lists the property of the wealthy but fallen Ming Senior Grand Secretary Yan Song (1480-1567). Ewers with such medallions decorated with lotus, like the present piece, are termed jinlian xingye hu (ginkgo leaf lotus decoration ewers).Compare a closely related example, also with a Jingtai nian zhi seal mark from the E.T. Chow (1910-1980) collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 612, and exhibited in Chinesisches Cloisonn?. Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, 1985, cat. no. 97, from the Pierre Uldry Collection; another decorated with the mythical beast qilin, in the British Museum, London is illustrated in Harry Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonn? Enamels, London, 1970, pl. 42; and one decorated with the Eight Buddhist Emblems, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, published in Basil William Robinson, Chinese Cloisonn? Enamels, London, 1972, pl. 4. Compare also a related piece with pear-shaped body and hexagonal rim, included in the exhibition Cloisonn?. Chinese Enamels from the Yuan Ming and Qing Dynasties, Bard Graduate Centre, New York, 2011, cat. no. 58.