an outstanding and rare 'longquan' celadon carved pear-shaped bottle vase (yuhuchunping) Ming Dynasty, Hongwu period

the generously swelling body exquisitely carved with scrolling peonies among elegant attendant leaves, above an upright lappet skirt, below a band of scrolling tendrils at the shoulder, the slender neck with a keyfret band below finely combed upright plantain leaves, culminating in a gently flared mouth, atop a straight foot incised with a keyfret band, covered throughout with an unctuous bubble-suffused light olive-green glaze, the foot rim unglazed revealing the pale body spotted gray from the firing

Christie's Hong Kong, 1st October 1991, lot 732.

The vase is in good condition with a very slightly lean to the neck. The glaze is a little pale, but the carving quality is excellent. There are two small chips to the mouth rim, affecting only the glaze, the largest approximately 1/2 inch long. The neck with a small streak of discoloration where the glaze is more bubble-infused and blue. Inspected under UV light.
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.

The present vase is an extremely rare example of early Ming wares made during the short reign of the Hongwu emperor (1368-1398). Celadon vases of this shape, and related ewers, decorated in this painterly style with incised designs, were made after contemporary wares manufactured in the official kilns at Jingdezhen. They often have close counterparts in Jingdezhen porcelain painted in underglaze blue and underglaze-red. Julian Thompson in 'Chinese Celadons', Arts of Asia, November-December 1993, p. 64, notes that by the 15th century 'it appears that the Jingdezhen wares had become so popular that the 'Longquan' potters had to adapt the complicated painted designs to their own technique of carving.'

This vase is closely related in size, form and decoration to the  'Longquan' celadon bottle vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 161. It is also comparable to a vase preserved in the former collection of the Ottoman sultans, studded with jewels and fitted with silver-gilt mounts and made into an ewer, included in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. 1, London, 1986, pl. 223; and to another bottle form vessel with lotus design from the Alexander and Barlow collections published in Michael Sullivan, Chinese Ceramics. Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 95b. 

A pear-shaped celadon bottle of very similar form and size, incised with a composition of fruiting grape-vines framed by a similar keyfret border above and petal panels with foliate motifs and a keyfret border around the foot, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. Three (II), London, 2006, pl. 1582. See also a vase published in Julian Thompson, op.cit., fig. 14, where the author mentions that the vessel 'follows a Hongwu design very closely, both in shape and in layout of the carved design, each of the bands of decoration corresponding precisely to the prototype'. (ibid., p. 64). That vase was sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 29th November 1976, lot 452, and again, 5th November 1996, lot 635.

For examples of related Jingdezhen counterparts, see a vase painted in copper-red illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 13, Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 214; and another Hongwu period underglaze-red decorated yuhuchunping, in the British Museum, London, published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 2:5. The British Museum vase is painted with the design of auspicious plants including a gnarled pine tree, lingzhi fungus, bamboo, prunus and plantain, below a similar keyfret border around the neck as seen on the present vase. A blue and white vase of the same period, decorated with the design of interlocking sprays of peony, from the Qing Court collection and still in the Palace Museum, is included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 14.