AN UNDERGLAZE-RED YUHUCHUNPING YUAN DYNASTY

the pear-shaped body rising from a short spreading foot to a tall flaring trumpet neck, painted around the exterior in a rich cherry-red tone with two figures in a continuous landscape scene, one carrying a long pole, the other punting a boat to the shore beneath a line of birds in flight, all between double line borders and below a stiff plantain leaf band at the neck

The vase has restoration and over-painting encircling the flared rim; several pinhead-sized burst glaze bubbles scattered around the body; an 8x3mm. raised glaze firing flaw to the shoulder; four very short hairline firing cracks to the inside edge of the footring; and light glaze scratches around the body. Otherwise the vase is in good overall condition with the underglaze red being of especially rich tone.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Copper-red decorated porcelains with such painterly designs are extremely rare in the Yuan Dynasty, although a similar vase painted with a hare among bamboo, discovered in Leping county, Jiangxi province and now in the Leping County Museum, is illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Daquan. Taoci Juan, 1993, no. 587.

Compare also a yuhuchun ping in the British Museum, inscribed with a poem in the same kind of linear brushwork, illustrated in J. M. Addis, Chinese Porcelain form the Addis Collection, 1979, pl. 3; and a jar discovered in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, with landscape designs in four quatrefoil panels, depicting figures praying for rain, is illustrated and discussed in Feng Xianming, 'Red-glazed and Underglaze-Red Porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty', Orientations, July 1985, p. 45, fig. 3 and p. 46.