PROVENANCE: from Lynchburg, VA Private collector. Measurements: Height: 35.5 cm, Diam.: 34 cm Antique Ming blue Chinese Jar, with dragon motif. Sturdy porcelain jar with robust shoulder region curving into a feminine waist that extends all the way to the bottom forming the raised circular base. The main body decorated with hand painting in blue underglaze of snarling dragon careening through cumulus clouds above thrashing Li-shui waves. Dragon is the symbol of the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, eternity, Yang and Yin, male vigor and fecundity. The immaculate porcelain body covered with a characteristic silky glaze. The glaze terminating slightly about the foot base, revealed the creme-grayish ground and unglazed underbase with dark-brown and black firing marks from kiln process. The clay is very fine, with a brilliant glaze finish that was applied by a meticulous craftsman. Mark on collar, a six-blue script -KaiShu- characters enclosed within rectangular frame, Made in The Years of XuanDe Reign Period of Great Ming.