a rare 'longquan' celadon double-gourd vase with applied decoration Yuan dynasty

the two bulbous bodies forming the double-gourd decorated in the round with a lively display of sprig-molded scrolling peony, rising to an upright neck, covered overall in a thick unctuous blue-green glaze, the foot rim unglazed and burnt an orange color in the firing



 



 

Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 1995, lot 679A.

The glaze is thickly applied and there are some minor scratches, particularly to the raised molded areas. There is one discolored patch to the uppper bulb. The mouth rim has a vertical hairline crack with attendant restored chip, visible under UV light. One of the flowers on the upper bulb with a 1/8 inch long area of glaze pull, resulting in contained craquelure. There is a chip 1/4 inch long to a raised stem towards the bottom of the upper bulb. The bottom bulb with some minor areas of glaze pull and two minute chips to the glaze. The bottom 1/3 of the lower bulb with craquelure, some cracks extending through the unglazed orange-russet foot rim and to the glazed recessed 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.

It is rare to find 'Longquan' vases of this elegant and highly auspicious double-gourd form decorated with a peony scroll on both the lower and upper bulbs. A closely related but slightly larger double-gourd vase, fitted with a later Ottoman metal mount and now in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, is published in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 13, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 31, and also in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. 1, London, 1986, pl. 202. A slightly smaller gourd-shaped bottle with a chrysanthemum scroll around the lower bulb and chrysanthemum flower-heads at the top, in the Datong Municipal Museum, Shanxi province, is illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 10, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 34; and another with small sprigs of asters at the top and a composite scroll of peony and lotus at the bottom, in the Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, is published in Longquan qingci, Beijing, 1966, col. pl. 18, and in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 153.

A 'Longquan' vase of this type was sold in these rooms, 30th March 2006, lot 57; and another vase, originally of double-gourd form but the top bulb damaged and missing, from the Alexander collection and illustrated in R.L. Hobson, Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections, London, 1931, fig. 7, was sold in our London rooms, 11th July 1978, lot 172.

'Longquan' wares with molded and applied decoration first appeared in the late Song dynasty but became popular and were produced in larger quantities during the Yuan dynasty. Double-gourd-form containers have been highly favored historically for their reference to gourds with their many seeds which symbolize fertility and abundance.