RARE SMALL BLUE AND WHITE 'FOUR IMMORTALS' JAR MING DYNASTY, JIAJING MARK AND OF THE PERIOD 明嘉靖 青花雙圈「大明嘉靖年製」六字楷書款 青花蓬頭四仙圖瓜棱小罐 the quatrefoil lobed body sensitively moulded rising from a recessed base to a short straight rim, painted in vibrant underglaze-blue with a continuous scene of four Daoist immortals, including Li Tieguai leaning on his staff holding a double-gourd, Liu Haichan in joyous dance with his three-legged toad, together with Hanshan and Shide, amongst pine trees and rockwork, all beneath a ruyi lappet border, the base inscribed with a six-character Jiajing mark within a double-circle (12.2cm high) Qty: (1) Provenance: Private Scottish collection, North Berwick, has been collecting Asian ceramics for 25 years. Acquired from Solveig and Anita Gray Oriental Ceramics and Works of Art Gallery, London, 9 December 1998. With an original receipt no. 988 and a declaration of antiquity 'Invoice G988', both dated. Three circular paper labels from Solveig and Anita Gray attached on the jar, of which two on the base, the other in the interior of the mouth, all bearing the gallery's inventory number 'Z51', corresponding to the receipt. Another smaller circular label on the base inscribed '38', is the current owner's inventory number. Note: The Jiajing Emperor (reign 1521-1567) started to pay excessive attention to his Daoist pursuits while ignoring imperial duties from the twenty-first year of his reign. According to the historical record Jiangxi Sheng Da zhi (Annals of Jiangxi), 'Volume of Ceramics', Jiajing Emperor commissioned many ceramic wares infused with the Daoist subject matter. This jar is a testimony of his Daoist obsession. The Daoist immortals depicted on this jar are Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals; Liu Haichan, the God of Wealth; Hanshan and Shide, who are also known together as the Hehe Erxian Twins. It is rare to have them four depicted together. An ink and colour on silk scroll painting, painted by an imperial painter in the Ming Court Shang Xi (ca. 15th century), depicting these four immortals on crashing waves focusing on the God of Longevity in flight in the centre, now in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, museum number Gu Hua 故畫3689. This scroll painting is painted in meticulous brush craftsmanship, whereas the depiction on the present jar takes on a freer style, aptly applied to the subject matter of Pengtou Sixian (Four Unkempt Immortals), and cleverly captures the liveliness, freedom from the secular judgement, and the nonchalant manner of the immortals. A highly comparable example of a blue and white 'four immortals' quatre-lobed jar, dated to the Ming dynasty, Jiajing mark and period, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 16 September 2009, lot 189. The same jar was subsequently offered at Poly Beijing, 6 December 2011, lot 4938, then sold at the same saleroom, 28 July 2022, lot 5623.