A RELIEF-DECORATED 'LONGQUAN' CELADON-GLAZED 'FIGURAL' GUAN 14TH CENTURY |

beautifully potted, the rounded body crisply molded with three lively vignettes within a garden setting of an elegant lady and a young female attendant engaged in various domestic activities, the scenes separated by flowering trees, leafy plants, and an elegant multi-storied pavilion, all above a band of vertical ribs, applied overall with a rich, unctuous sea-green glaze pooling to a deeper tone at the recesses, save for the unglazed mouthrim and neatly trimmed wedge-shaped foot fired to a burnt-orange

Collection of Mrs. R. Collin Smith.
Sotheby's London, 7th February 1967, lot 76.
Christie's Hong Kong, 25th October 1993, lot 712.
Christie's Hong Kong, 2nd May 1994, lot 622.
The Jinguantang Collection.
Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 540.

Ye Peilan, Yuandai ciqi [Porcelain of the Yuan dynasty], Beijing, 1998, pl. 445B.

The jar is in overall good condition with some age appropriate wear and expected minor firing imperfections, including a firing crack encircling approx. half of the circumference of the interior base.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This jar showcases the outstanding craftsmanship at the Longquan kilns in Zhejiang province in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Longquan kilns excelled in creating subtle and understated green-glazed vessels, and moved towards a more exuberant style during the Yuan dynasty to contend with increasing competition from the neighboring Jingdezhen kilns with their vivid blue-painted porcelains. The resulting products feature elaborately carved, molded or applied decoration, generally of floral designs and occasionally with vivid figural scenes from popular Yuan dramas, such as the present piece. Compare a jar of this type decorated around the sides with the Eight Immortals, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th-29th April 1992, lot 22, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, lot 3818; another, decorated with four figural scenes from a Yuan play, from the Su Lin An Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 195, lot 310; and a slightly larger jar, depicting ladies with attendants in a garden setting, from the Russell Beverley Collection, illustrated in John Ayers, ‘Some Characteristic Wares of the Yüan Dynasty’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 29, 1954-55, pl. 36, fig. 7. See also a hexagonal brushpot decorated with alternating sides of floral scenes and inscription, from the Edward T. Chow Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2013, lot 3033.