FOUR CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE VASES AND A TEA BOWL AND SAUCER

FOUR CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE VASES AND A TEA BOWL AND SAUCER

18TH AND 19TH CENTURY

Comprising: a tea bowl and saucer decorated with birds and blossoming leafy branches, a near pair of small vases painted with stylised sprigs, a moulded vase with panels of flowers growing amidst rockwork, and a fourth vase decorated with peony sprays between lappets and pendant leaves, 18cm max. (6)

Provenance: from the collection of Professor Ronald N Arnold (1908-1963) and thence by descent. Professor Arnold was Regius Professor of Engineering at Edinburgh University from 1947 until his death. Following ill health, in 1953 he began to collect Chinese porcelain in his free time, buying most of his pieces from small antique shops and auctioneers in Edinburgh and London. Through the art historian David Talbot-Rice, Professor Arnold became acquainted with several experts in the field of East Asian ceramics, including Sir Harry Garner and Soame Jenyns.