a rare 'longquan' celadon 'tobi seiji' bottle vase and stand Yuan dynasty

the vase delicately potted with a baluster body atop a short tapering foot, the long cylindrical neck rising out of a projecting flange above the shoulder, the pared foot rim unglazed revealing the red-orange-burnt body, the openwork stand supported on five short ruyi-shaped feet rising to legs above a circular ring, the section above each aperture with a small notch at the center, the waisted neck with a pair of opposing pierced cloud-forms and circles, the everted rim flattened, both covered with a bubble-suffused olive-green glaze whimsically applied with areas of irregularly-shaped iron-brown spots (2)

The vase has one long glaze crack running from the waisted area above the foot up to the sloping shoulder and running laterally for approximately 5 inches. The neck with very minor hairline cracks to the glaze. The inside edge of the mouth rim with a tiny pinhole. The stand with one tiny chip to the unglazed section of a foot. Both in overall good condition. Inspected under UV light. The color is slightly more gray than the catalogue image suggests.
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.

Although vessels decorated with ferruginous brown spots, known by the Japanese name tobi seiji, were especially popular during the Yuan dynasty, it is rare to find vases and stands of this type decorated in this manner. However, a closely related vase and stand, the vase known in Chinese as jizi ping (bottle in the shape of the ji character), in the Shanghai Museum, are illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 10, Shanghai, 2000, pls. 41 and 99. See also a plain vase and stand in the Longquan Museum, illustrated in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 166, together with a vase and stand with molded decoration, pl. 165.

Compare also a much larger vase of similar form but different proportions in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Longquan qingci, Beijing, 1966, pl. 44; and two examples of stands published in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pls. 790-791, both attributed to the Ming dynasty.