Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase

Wan-Li vases — blue-and-white Chinese porcelain from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572–1620) — appear throughout Dutch Golden Age still life as symbols of global commerce and elite taste. Van der Ast painted this 1623 arrangement at a moment when the Dutch East India Company was importing Chinese porcelain in enormous quantities, making such pieces recognizable luxury objects in wealthy Dutch households. Following Bosschaert's format directly, Van der Ast places the vase on a ledge and fills it with a characteristic mixed bouquet, but his flowers tend toward a slightly looser, more naturalistic arrangement than his brother-in-law's rigidly symmetrical compositions. The work, now in private hands with Kunsthandel P. de Boer, reflects the robust secondary market for Dutch still life that has persisted across four centuries. The Wan-Li vase itself, depicted with accurate blue designs and characteristic shape, doubles as a collectible documented within the painting — a valuable object rendering itself.

The blue-and-white decorative patterns on the Wan-Li vase require careful linear work in ultramarine or natural blue pigment over a white underlayer. Flowers above the rim are painted with Van der Ast's characteristic attention to individual bloom species, each separately studied. The stone ledge receives a cool grey wash with warm reflected light to place the ensemble in ambient space.