Ewers of this type were produced in the Kangxi period, with the shape derived from Middle Eastern metal vessels known as ‘aftaba’. These were first produced in Turkey but can also be found in India. They were used in conjunction with a basin for hand-washing.

Compare with an identical blue and white Kangxi period ewer in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Rose Kerr and Luisa E. Mengoni Chinese Export Ceramics, London, 2011, pl.154. An ewer of similar decoration, dated to the late 17th/early 18th century, is illustrated by R.Krahl and J.Ayers in Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul: A Complete Catalogue, III, Qing Dynasty Porcelains, London, 1986, no.2153. A similar example was sold at Bonhams London, ‘Fine Chinese Art’, 7 November 2019, lot 98.