Certified Chinese white blue noble porcelain Meiping vase with court scene, Ming dynasty, Tianshun period (1458-1464), Jiangxi province Description: Amazing handmade porcelain vase with underglaze blue decoration of court scene in the middle; flowers (roses?) at the top and leaves at the bottom The surface of the vase is smooth and cool to touch and slightly wavy (with wavelength 1.5 cm) according to the movement of the potter’s hands during rotating of the potter’s wheel. The blue colors are muted with a noble ivory shade. There is an obvious process of de-vitrification: fading of the glaze, which happens over several hundred years. Height: 11.8 inches = 30 cm; Width: 6.5 inches = 16.8 cm; Widest circumference: 20.5 inches = 52 cm; Diameter of the base: 4 inches = 10 cm; Weight: 4 lb. 4.2 oz. = 1932 g = 1 kg 932 g; Provenance: from private collection in Florida, USA Era dates: Zhengtong (正統): 18 January 1436 – 13 January 1450 Tianshun (天順): 15 February 1457 – 26 January 1465 References: 1. He Li Chinese ceramics a new comprehensive survey. 1996, The Asian Art museum of San Francisco. p.223 2. Zhu Qizhen (Chinese 朱祁鎮; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464) was the sixth and eighth emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor (Chinese 正統; pinyin: Zhèngtǒng; literally: "right governance") in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in 1449, in favour of his younger brother the Jingtai Emperor, after being captured by the Mongols during the Tumu Crisis. In 1457, he deposed Jingtai and ruled again as the Tianshun Emperor (Chinese: 天順; pinyin: Tiānshùn; literally: "obedience to Heaven") until his death in 1464. His temple name is Yingzong (英宗).