In September 2016, on the eve of the opening of China (Hainan) Museum of the South China Sea, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States commissioned Christie's New York to auction a collection of Chinese porcelain from its collection. ZOSE Group successfully bid for a Ming blue and white meiping vase with alum red decoration (also known as the Meiping Vase with Interlocking Lotus Patterns in Underglaze Blue on a Coral Red Ground) from 501 lots. After being escorted across ten thousand miles via New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Haikou, the vase was donated to China (Hainan) Museum of the South China Sea and became one of its first collections.

On November 23, 2016, the Hainan Department of Culture and Sports held a special Press Conference on the Entry of Overseas Cultural Relics into the National Maritime Museum of China at Hainan Museum. At the conference, Mr. Lv Chenglong, a renowned porcelain connoisseur and research fellow at the Palace Museum, issued a professional appraisal opinion:

1. Verified provenance: The vase was a collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, donated to the museum by the Morgan family in the 1960s and 1970s with detailed archival records, boasting a clear and unbroken provenance.

2. Exquisite form: It features the typical artistic style of the Jiajing and Wanli reigns of the Ming Dynasty, with vivid coloration and well-preserved condition, making it a striking masterpiece of its kind.

3. Sophisticated craftsmanship: Underglaze blue on a white ground is the most common blue and white porcelain technique. The combination of underglaze blue and overglaze alum red first emerged in the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty, requiring two separate firings and posing great technical challenges. As a zhuoqi (sculpted vessel), it was formed in segments—an even more difficult firing process compared to yuanqi (rotary-formed vessel), which is shaped in a single throw on the potter's wheel.

4. Rarity in existence: Such Ming meiping vases with underglaze blue patterns on a red ground are rarely seen in major museums around the world.

In December 2025, the meiping vase was put on display in a dedicated showcase in the newly renovated Hall 3 of China (Hainan) Museum of the South China Sea, serving as a precious cultural relic witness to ancient China's Maritime Silk Road.

The exhibition label reads:

Dimensions: Mouth diameter 6.5 cm, base diameter 12.5 cm, height 35.2 cm

Grade: Second-Class Cultural Relic

This Ming blue and white meiping vase with alum red decoration has a small mouth, short neck, long round belly and ring foot. Its outer wall is painted with interlocking lotus patterns in underglaze blue, accented with alum red decoration. Crafted using the sophisticated two-firing technique of underglaze blue and overglaze alum red, it is a fine example of Ming Dynasty polychrome porcelain.

Once part of the collection of the JP Morgan family in the United States, the vase was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the 1960s and 1970s. In September 2016, the Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned Christie's New York to auction hundreds of pieces of Chinese porcelain from its collection. Hainan ZOSE Group successfully bid for this vase and donated it to our museum.