A MAGNIFICENT AND VERY RARE 'JUN' MALLOW-SHAPED LAVENDER-GLAZED FLOWERPOT Early Ming dynasty

the superbly potted vessel of hexagonal section, the deep bracket-lobed flaring sides rising from a slightly splayed foot to a broad everted rim, covered overall with a lustrous lavender glaze, highlighted with brilliant cascades of vivid sky-blue and deep pinkish-purple, draining away from the mouth rim and between the lobes to reveal a creamy mushroom-brown tone, the interior predominantly a deep sky-blue color, the base glazed olive-brown over five pierced drainage holes and incised with the numeral san ('three')     

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th November 1996, lot 721.  

 

This exceptionally richly and vividly splashed flowerpot is in good overall condition with the exception of light areas of re-touching to three hairline cracks: one extending from just above the foot on the exterior up across one lobe, over the rim and back down the interior to one of the pierced holes in the base, end at another hole; one extending again from just above the foot on the exterior in a more or less vertical line over the rim and 11cm. down the interior; the third extending from the rim circa 8cm. down the exterior and 14cm. vertically down the interior; restoration to three shallow flakes on the exterior of the foot (5 x 1.5cm; 2 x 2cm; and 4 x 2cm.); and light glaze scratches around the body, in particular below the rim on the interior. The blue to the interior is not as saturated as the photograph in the catalogue (p. 128) 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.

The dating of these 'Jun' ware flower receptacles in mold-made shapes, inscribed on the base with numbers from one to ten, usually glazed in striking tones of bright blue and bright purple, has long been debated. In the past, two different schools of thought proposed datings either to the Northern Song (12th century) or to the Yuan / early Ming (14th/15th century). The Northern Song date was supported by the discovery of a mold fragment for coins inscribed with the Xuanhe reign name (1119-1125), reputedly excavated at the kiln sites together with fragments of 'numbered Jun' vessels and said to be made of the same clay. The dating of this coin mold has recently, however, been dismissed as incorrect at a conference in Shenzhen. A dating to the early Ming dynasty is therefore now largely accepted for this group of vessels, following stylistic comparisons with jardinières, vases and other flower receptacles in celadon and blue-and-white from the Longquan and Jingdezhen kilns, which are more precisely datable. Since many of these 'numbered Jun' wares are preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and the Palace Museum, Beijing, from the former Imperial collection and often inscribed with the names of Palace halls, these vessels can now be considered as Imperial flower vessels of the early Ming court.

A similar flowerpot inscribed with the same numeral san ('three') is illustrated in A Panorama of Ceramics in the Collection of the National Palace Museum. Chun Ware, Taipei, 1999, pl. 22, together with a flowerpot of the same shape but with the numeral wu ('five'), pl. 23, and one with the numeral qi ('seven'), pl. 24. Compare also two flowerpots of this type with the inscribed number qi ('seven') in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pls. 15 and 16. Another vessel marked si ('four'), published in R.L. Hobson, The George Eumorfopoulos Collection Catalogue of Chinese, Corean and Persian Pottery and Porcelain, vol. 3, London, 1926, pl. III, no. C16, was sold in these rooms, 29th May 1940, lot 179, and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Further two examples with the same numeral san ('three'), glazed in different shades of purple, from the J. Piermont Morgan collection, formerly in the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, and now in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, were sold in these rooms, 25th March 1975, lot 224 and 225, and are illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, col. pl. 103.