This covered baluster vase with ring handles is painted in a 'windswept' style depicting a scholar and his attendant carrying a zither, a popular subject in Chinese paintings and in Ming and Qing woodblock-illustrated books.The term 'baluster' refers to the vertical, rounded supports of a balustrade. Baluster vases were exported to Europe from the later half of the 17th century. During the 18th century, this type of vases formed part of a garniture, which is a combined set of five or seven beakers and vases used in European interiors.
