A TALL WUCAI 'PHOENIX REGISTER' SLEEVE VASE, XIANGTUIPING, SHUNZHI PERIOD China, 1644-1661. Heavily potted and superbly decorated in underglaze blue and iron-red as well as yellow, emerald green and aubergine enamels. Four horizontal registers show bands of delicately painted phoenixes divided by diapered patterns and circumferential lines. Provenance: From a noted private collection in Southampton, New York, USA, and thence by descent. Old collector's number 'B-204' inscribed in red to base below a clear varnish coating. Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and firing irregularities, few small flakes to enamels, the colors unusually crisp. A vase in such a well-preserved condition is extremely rare. Weight: 4,028 g Dimensions: Height 45.7 cm Covered overall with a transparent glaze save for the unglazed foot, revealing the buff body burnt to a light orange at the rim. With a diapered band above the foot, below a band of palm blades against a differently diapered ground, the next eight bands alternating between the same diapered design below and evenly spaced phoenixes, the shoulder with a band of scrolling vines, and the neck with a band of stiff leaves. Expert's note: Although the Chinese term for sleeve vases, Xiangtuiping (literally 'Elephant's foot vase'), only seldomly appears in auction listings, the form, stature, and mass of the present vase clearly demonstrate the aptness of the name. Auction result comparison: Compare a related but slightly smaller (38.1 cm high) wucai sleeve vase, with vertical instead of horizontal registers, dated to the Shunzhi period, at Christie's New York in An Era of Inspiration: 17th-Century Chinese Porcelains from the Collection of Julia and John Curtis on 16 March 2015, lot 3545, sold for USD 75,000, and a slightly smaller (39.4 cm high) wucai gu-form vase, with similar bands and diapered designs, also dated to the Shunzhi period, at Christie's New York in the same auction, lot 3546, sold for USD 106,250. Compare also a related but slightly smaller (37.5 cm high) wucai sleeve vase, with a very similar red diapered ground, dated 17th century, at Christie's Paris in Palais Abbatial de Royaumont on 21 September 2011, lot 461, sold for EUR 15,000. 順治時期五彩鳳凰象腿瓶 中國，1644-1661年。厚胎，藍、鐵紅色以及黃色、翠綠色和茄子紫色琺瑯精美描繪鳳凰紋。 來源：美國紐約南安普頓知名私人收藏，保存至今。底部舊收藏標簽 'B-204'。 品相：狀況極佳，輕微磨損和燒製不規則，局部琺瑯彩開片。 保存如此完好的花瓶極為罕見。 重量：4,028 克 尺寸：高45.7 厘米 專家注釋：象腿瓶雖然很少出現在拍賣會上，從現在的花瓶的形狀、身形和質量來看，都清楚地表明了這個名字的極其貼切。 拍賣結果比較：一件相近的但稍小 (高38.1 厘米) 五彩瓶，順治時期，見紐約佳士得An Era of Inspiration: 17th-Century Chinese Porcelains from the Collection of Julia and John Curtis，2015年3月16日，lot 3545, 售價USD 75,000；另一件稍小 (高39.4 厘米) 五彩觚式瓶，相似紋帶，順治時期，見紐約佳士得的同一拍場，lot 3546，售價USD 106,250。一件稍小（高37.5 厘米 ) 五彩瓶，相近紅色紋帶，十七世紀，見巴黎佳士得 Palais Abbatial de Royaumont，2011年9月 21日，lot 461，售價EUR 15,000。