A Blue and White JardiniereWanli six-character at the rim and of the period The tapering straight sides painted in a rich cobalt blue in a continuous scene around the body with boys at various leisurely pursuits in a garden setting with rockwork, plantain, pine and other flora within fenced hillocks and terrace, the boys variously carrying a lotus leaf parasol, playing weiqi at a table, carrying a vase of coral, and riding a hobby-horse, all below stylized clouds, the rim with a band of six auspicious emblems and the Da Ming Wanli nian zhi mark, the top of the rim flat with scrolling vine decoration, the base flat and unglazed. 14 1/4in (36.5cm) diam; 8 1/2in (22cm) high 明萬曆 青花敞口缸 《大明萬曆年製》款 For a Jiajing-marked blue and white jar, guan , with a version of the same scene, presumably based on a woodblock original, see Enlightening Elegance, Imperial Porcelain of the Mid to Late Ming, The Huaihaitang Collection , Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 228-231, no. 58. Like our jardinière, it features sixteen boys at play in a courtyard with pines, rocks, banana leaves and fences. One boy is acting as teacher seated before a screen, whilst another reads at a table and another crawls on his hands and knees balancing a book on his head. The scene continues around the body with a boy holding a stick, others watch a cricket fight at another table, while others play games; one riding a 'hobby-horse, another pulled on a wheeled cart, and yet more are shown carrying objects; a lotus-pad parasol, a vase with a coral or tree branch and a large fan. The authors also mention a similar jar in the Palace Museum in Beijing but omit a citation. Another Jiajing jar, guan , that shares the same scene is illustrated by Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection ,London, 2010, Vol. 4, pp. 178-179, no. 1695.