A LARGE AND EXCEPTIONALLY RARE UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND COPPER-RED JAR (GUAN), China, Yuan dynasty. The strong-shouldered body with four carved out ogival panels framed within double-lines of fine beading, each panel flamboyantly decorated with applied flowering branches evocative of the four seasons, comprising respectively chrysanthemum, camellia, peony, and pomegranate, the various blooms and their characteristic leaves each mouldded and raised on short stalks. - Formerly property from a Belgian private collection, then property from a Flemish private collection - Cf. with three companion pieces published a multitude of times. Given here are only some representative mentions: The Winkworth Jar in the Percival David Foundation, London, illustrated in: R.L. Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1923, pl. 21; W.B. Honey, The Ceramic Art of China and Other Countries of the Far East, London, 1943, pl. 91; John Ayers, Some Characteristic Wares of the Yüan Dynasty, 'Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society', vol. 29, 1954-1955, fig. 19; The Ceramic Art of China, Oriental Ceramic Society, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1971, cat. no. 134, pl. 32; Margaret Medley, Yüan Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1974, pl. B; Yu Peilan, Yuandai ciqi (Yuan dynasty porcelain), Beijing, 1998, pl. 155. The jar in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in: Adrian M. Joseph, Ming Porcelains: Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, fig. 3; Tôji taikei, vol. 41, Tokyo, 1974, pl. 4; Wan-go Weng and Yang Boda, The Palace Museum Peking, London, 1982, pl. 27; Chûgoku no tôji, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1995, pl. 4; The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 227. The jar in the Hebei Museum, Shijiazhuang, illustrated in: Hebei sheng chutu wenwu xuanji, Beijing, 1980, pl. 403 and colour plate; Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 23; engl. ed. Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 25; Liu Liang-yu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 3, Taipei, 1992, pl. 38; Zhongguo taoci quanji, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 11, pl. 151. - Traces of age, rest. breaks, neck cut off