Large Baluster Vase

A high quality porcelain vase decorated using the Ming technique of ‘heaped and piled effect’. The artist applied thousands of tiny blue cobalt dots to painted designs. Cobalt was a very expensive material - originally imported from the Near East, but native sources were used later. The base is decorated with bands of water and floral motifs. The body with the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism and the stem with lotus and vine designs. The vase is in two parts with the stem being easily removable from the main body.