34 - *CHINA, Jiajing Mark and Period

*CHINA, Jiajing Mark and Period A rare porcelain ewer known as the “Magic Fountain,” with a shape inspired by Near Eastern models, with a flattened pear-shaped body resting on a flared foot, featuring a long, hexagonal, serpentine spout and an arched handle with a tab designed to hold the lid. Decorated in cobalt blue with an underglaze design of stylized leaves around the flared base and a fountain resting on a table, from which water gushes through the heads of phoenixes and dragons. The flared neck is adorned with banana leaves; the spout is embellished with auspicious lozenges and scrolls of flames; the handle is decorated with floral motifs. The tip of the spout and the clasp are finely engraved with stylized lozenges; the domed silver lid is connected to the ewer by a band of stylized leaves. The base bears a six-character Jiajing mark inscribed within a double square. Height: 32 cm (Spout cut off, handle replaced by a mount; missing pieces; dents on the mount) Provenance: Former collection of General Zinovi Pechkoff (1884–1966).