A 'LONGQUAN' CELADON JAR AND COVER SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the ovoid body carved with a skirt of upright blades rising to three rounded tiers, and a large sinuous dragon snaking around the shoulder in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', the low domed cover molded with a seated bird finial, covered overall in a bluish-green glaze

Sotheby's New York, 20th March 2002, lot 113.

Collection of Francisco Capelo.

 

Francisco Capelo et. al., Forms of Pleasure. Chinese Ceramics from Burial to Daily Life, London, 2009, pl. 65.

The jar and cover is in good overall condition, with no repairs. There is a 1cm chip to the footrim, which most probably happened at the time of manufacture.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'Longquan' vases of this type are described by Julian Thompson, 'Chinese Celadons', Arts of Asia, November-December 1993, p. 62, as belonging to the finest 'Longquan' celadon vessels recorded. The glaze of this vase is a lustrous bluish-green and the modelling of the dragon coiled around the vessel is powerful and lively. The bird on the cover also appears animated with its head lifted alert to attention and wings slightly lifted to suggest imminent movement.

Compare vases of similar form and decoration, such as one from the Avery Brundage collection in the Asia Art Museum, San Francisco, published in Mary Treagar, Song Ceramics, New York, 1982, pl. 286; another included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum. Chinese Ceramics, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1988, pl. 509; one excavated in Longquan and now in the Wenzhou Museum, included in Zhu Baiqian, Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 105. A related vase, from the collection of Stephen D. Winkworth, was sold in these rooms, 25^th April 1933, lot 92; and another, included in the exhibition Decouverte de L'Asie, Hommage a Rene Grousset, Musee Cernuschi, Paris, 1954, was sold in these rooms, 1^st July 1969, lot 120.

It is thought that funerary jars of this type were made in pairs, one bearing the 'green dragon' of the East and the other the 'white' tiger of the West. A pair from the Sir Percival David collection, and now in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Margaret Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares, London, 1977, pl. IV, no. 36, where Medley notes that these vases may have been filled with aromatic oils and then placed next to the deceased whose head would have faced the north.