These bottle flasks belong to a rare and important group of Chinese export porcelains produced at Jingdezhen during the late Ming dynasty, most likely in the Wanli period (c. 1590–1620). Their distinctive flattened, circular body with a long tubular neck derives from earlier Middle Eastern metalwork prototypes, particularly Islamic pilgrim flasks, a form that was adapted in porcelain for the export market.

A notable feature of this group is the inclusion of European heraldry, most prominently the arms associated with Philip II of Spain. These arms, typically showing the quartered shield of Castile and León, were likely copied from contemporary Spanish silver coinage rather than from an official commission, as slight variations occur between known examples.

More recent scholarship has questioned the traditional attribution of these armorial bottles to a direct commission for Philip II of Spain. While the heraldic devices were long believed to derive from Spanish silver coinage of the reign of Philip II, other scholars have suggested they may instead have been copied from contemporary maps or book illustrations, reflecting the intertwined Portuguese and Spanish trade networks in Asia following the Iberian Union of 1580. In the absence of firm documentary evidence, stylistic comparison remains crucial in dating this rare group of porcelains, with the finest examples - including the present piece - generally attributed to the Wanli period.

Such pieces were produced specifically for export and were transported via Portuguese trade routes from Macau to Europe. They are often associated with so-called “Kraak” porcelain, though their unusual form sets them apart from the more common wares of that category. Surviving examples are rare and are today preserved in major museum collections worldwide, including the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Two principal decorative variations are known: one with floral sprays and insects to the rear, and another incorporating figural landscape scenes with scholars in a Transitional style. The rarity of intact examples is further underscored by the fact that many surviving flasks have suffered damage or later metal-mounted restorations to the neck.

These flasks stand as exceptional testimony to early global trade and cross-cultural exchange, combining Chinese ceramic expertise with European iconography in a form ultimately derived from Islamic metalwork traditions.

Reference:

• Identical bottles with floral decoration on the reverse are in the Casa-Museu Anastacio Goncalves, Lisbon, in the collection of Dr. Joao Goncalo do Amaral Cabral, on permant loan to the Museum and Library of the House of Braganza (link) and in a private collection, originally in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo.

• Bottles with landscape and scholars decoration on the reverse are in The Albuquerque Foundation, Sintra, Portugal, from the Renata Albuquerque Collection, inv. no. 5, in The British Museum, London (museum number Franks.778.+), The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem (inventory number E82416), The Yale University Art Gallery, USA (acc. no. 2024.4.1), The Frelinghuysen Collection (illustrated in B. Macguire, 2023, no. 20), the Fundação Carmona e Costa, (acc. No. CER 56), Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Netherlands (inv. OCVO-18-65) and in the Fundacao Oriente, Museu do Oriente (no. 456).

• Christie's London, 12 November 2002, lot 140. (sold GBP 138.650,00) (link)

• Sotheby's New York, 19 April 2023, 'The Spirit of America: The Wolf Family Collection', lot 45 for a near-identical example, with landscape decoration on the reverse. (sold USD 114.300,00) (link)
  

Selected literature:

• William R. Sargent, 'Treasure of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum', pp. 348-351, no. 185.

• Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, 'Global by Design. Chinese Ceramics from the R. Albuquerque Collection', Jorge Welsh Research & Publishing, 2016, pp. 106-111, no. 17.

• J. Ayers and D. Howard, 'China for the West', vol. I, p. 53, no. 8.

• Rocio Diaz, 'Chinese Armorial Porcelain for Spain', Jorge Welsh Books, Lisbon/London, cat. 1.

• M. Beurdeley, 'Porcelaine de la Compagnie des Indes', 1962, pp. 90-91, fig. 61.

• Becky Macquire, 'Four Centuries of Blue and White. The Frelinghuysen Collection of Chinese and Japanese Export Porcelain', p. 58, no. 20.