A RARE VIETNAMESE BLUE AND WHITE 'FLOWERS' STEM CUP

A RARE VIETNAMESE BLUE AND WHITE 'FLOWERS' STEM CUP

Le Dynasty, 15th / 16th Century, probably My Xa kilns

The cup with rounded sides, supported by a cylindrical stem terminating in a splayed foot, the exterior freely-painted with blossoms amidst undulating leafy stems above a band of petal lappets, the stem with a thin band of classic scroll, the interior of the cup painted with a double-ring to the well enclosed by a band of hatched decorations around the rim,

8.3cm diameter, 9.5cm high

Provenance: Private London collection

c.f. Compare a related cup with similar blue and white decoration, but with a wider cup, illustrated in 'Treasures from the Hoi an Hoard. Important Vietnamese Ceramics from a Late 15th / Early 16th Century Cargo', San Francisco, 2000, p.193, no.1643. Compare stem cups of a very similar shape, with similarly-potted rounded sides and a thick cylindrical stem with splayed foot, but instead with plain decoration to the exterior, also from the aforementioned sale, p.194, no.1645. Similar to these is another stem cup housed in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. no. 1991.977.