A Rare and Magnificent Early 'Yaozhou' Relief-Carved 'Surprise' Ewer Northern Song Dynasty

beautifully potted of globular form, carved in relief depicting pairs of mandarin ducks formed in fine detail, a boy holding another duck, and a lotus scroll generously issuing sumptuous leaves, the lotus stem arising from the shoulder in three-dimensional form to articulate the curved handle terminating with a domed lotus leaf on top of the vessel, the other shoulder set with a spout in the form of a seated lion, against a background of incised waves, glazed overall in a fine pale green glaze pooling in the recesses with even craquelure, the underside pierced with double-crescents, presumably leading into a tube inside the ewer and enabling it to be filled upside down, Japanese wood box (2)

The overall condition is good, with well controlled glazing and crisply molded sides. The base has one potting flaw and 1/2 inch firing crack. The foot has a few minor firing cracks along the base, and areas of kiln grit and discoloration. The domed lotus leaf has one original dent where the glaze has pooled and the edge of the leaf has some minute nibbles.
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 ewer can be considered one of most important extant examples of this early type of Yaozhou ware, which is characterized by a fine pale green glaze and bold high-relief carving. The piece is unique in being decorated with a figurative scene rather than a stylized floral design. Only one other 'surprise ewer' of this form appears to be preserved (Fig.1), and only three other ewers appear to be known with seated lion spouts (Fig.2). This rare type of celadon, previously often referred to as dong (eastern) ware, can be traced to the Huangbaozhen kilns in Tongchuan county, Shaanxi province, which belong to the Yaozhou kiln group, and can be dated to the Five Dynasties or early Northern Song period. Only very few examples are extant of this early Yaozhou ware, mostly in form of ewers and small jars, and the exceptionally high quality of most of these pieces can only be explained by a carefully monitored small-scale production process.

A lively naturalistic design such as seen on this ewer is otherwise completely unknown on this type of early celadon and the charming scene of the large pair of ducks among waterweeds and a boy holding a smaller duck seems particularly well suited to this technique of large-scale silhouette carving. The formal flower and scroll motifs which are characteristic of this type of ware (see Fig. 2) are on the present piece represented by the large bloom under the handle. This simple flower decoration was occasionally broken up by the application of small sprig-molded birds, as on the piece formerly in the T.T. Tsui collection, mentioned below, but the present piece is the first to show carved designs other than flowers. A somewhat more complex carved floral design appears only on one fragmentary piece, originally perhaps of similar form as the present ewer, illustrated in Yaozhou Kiln, Xi'an, 1992, 52nd page, bottom.

'Surprise ewers' of this type, which are filled from the base through a tube inside, were popular in the Qing dynasty, but are very rare at this early date. Only one other complete example appears to be recorded, a very similar piece excavated in Binxian, Shaanxi province, and now preserved in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an (Fig.2). Decorated with a stylized lotus scroll, it has a reclining lioness with a cub as spout, the lotus leaf on top has a raised calyx and applied knobs around it, and the underside is pierced with five small holes, in form of a prunus blossom. The piece has frequently been published, for example, in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol.7, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 93, and was included in the exhibition The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1998, cat.no. 28, and illustrated on the catalogue cover. The fragmentary piece mentioned above, which shows two similar crescent-shaped openings in the base, may originally also have had a similar form, but only the lower part of the vessel is preserved.

Spouts in form of seated lions are known from three other pieces, all in form of regular ewers with tubular neck and strap handle, one excavated at Hongchuanzhen, Cheng county, Gansu province and now preserved at the Cultural Relics Bureau of Cheng County, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, loc.cit., pl. 101 (Fig. 2); one from the T.T. Tsui collection, illustrated and discussed in Regina Krahl, 'The T.T. Tsui Collection of Chinese Ceramics', Orientations, December 1989, p. 36, fig.10, also published in The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1991, pl. 32, and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 532; and the third in the Cleveland Museum of Art from the J.H. Wade collection, illustrated in G.St.G.M. Gompertz, Chinese Celadon Wares, London, 1958, pls. 36 and 37, and included in the exhibition Ice and Green Clouds. Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1987, cat.no.52.

Compare also a ewer of this type in the Musee Guimet, Paris, with a spout in form of twin phoenix heads; see Ceramic Art of the World, vol.12: Sung Dynasty, Tokyo, 1977, col.pls 45 and 46. A fragmentary ewer with straight neck, with a single phoenix spout was excavated at the Huangbaozhen kiln site, together with another such ewer with a tubular spout, both included in the Osaka exhibition, 1998, op.cit., cat.nos 143 and 142.