A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE BEAKER VASE, GU

TRANSITIONAL C.1640

Painted to the upper register with a man fishing beneath a willow tree in a river landscape, a boy and a lady carrying baskets over her shoulders look onwards, the scene divided by craggy rocks and swirling clouds, the slightly raised central section decorated with three floral sprays, with a band of stylised leaves above the foot, 43.2cm.

Provenance: from the collection of Lady Kate Davson, née Kate Foster (1938-2020). Kate Davson was a prominent dealer in European ceramics. The daughter of Ludovic Foster and Pamela Wilberforce, Kate was brought up near Pulborough in Sussex and educated at Downe House School near Newbury. Kate joined Sotheby's Works of Art Department in 1959. She travelled widely for Sotheby's and set up their Munich office. In 1973, she established the firm of Kate Foster Ltd, with premises in Ryder Street, St. James's. She also founded the French Porcelain Society in 1984. Kate married Christopher Davson (1927-2004) in 1975 and later became Lady Davson in 1998, although she still liked to be known as Kate. She was proud to be the great-great-great grand-daughter of William Wilberforce and was prominent in the bicentenary celebration of Britain's abolition of the Slave Trade in 2007.

Cf. R S Kilburn, Transitional Wares and Their Forerunners, p.89, no.65 for a related blue and white beaker vase decorated with birds and flowers above floral sprays and plantain leaves; see also Christie's New York, 19th-20th September 2013, lot 1317 for a comparable vase also painted with a figural scene.