a rare large 'longquan' celadon mallet vase Southern Song dynasty

of cylindrical form tapering gently towards the foot, the sloped shoulder rising to a columnar neck and wide galleried mouth rim, the neck flanked by a pair of ao or makara dragon-fish handles, applied overall with a thick bluish-green glaze, the foot rim pared down revealing the gray body and traces of burnt orange from the firing

The glaze at the neck is slightly grayer than the rest of the vase. There is a 3 inch long semi-circular original firing flaw to the recessed base, causing a split. One of the makara handles has a tiny chip to the tip. The edge of the mouth rim and the interior of the neck with one burst air bubble. In overall good condition. Inspected under UV light, which revealed possible retouching, or simply an inconsistency to the glaze, to a tiny area of the edge of the mouth rim where the glaze pools to a bluish color.
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.

A vase of similar form and size, also with fish-dragon handles, from the collection of Enid and Brodie Lodge, included in the Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat.no. 422, and in five other exhibitions, was sold in our London rooms, 8th July 1975, lot 91. See another vase with a noticeable crackled glaze, from the collections of Nai Chi-chang, Warren E. Cox and Frederick M. Mayer, included in the exhibition The Art of Southern Sung China, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1962, cat.no. 54; another, illustrated in The Freer Gallery of Art: I. China, Washington D.C., n.d. pl. 89; and a third example included in Bo Gyllensvard, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 99.

Two vases of slightly smaller dimensions were recovered from a ship wrecked off the Sinan Coast in Korea in 1323, and included in the Special Exhibition of Cultural Relics Found Off Sinan Coast, National Museum of Korea, Seoul, 1977, cat.col. pl. 3, and pls. 4 and 5, forming part of a small group of vessels on board which are believed to predate the ship's voyage by some decades.

Vases of this type can also be found with phoenix handles; for example see one included in the exhibition Ice and Green Clouds. Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1987, cat.no. 78 and figs. 78a-e. It is mentioned ibid., p. 192, that vases of this type (known in Japan as Kinuta) have been valued in Japan since the Kamakura period.