A CARVED AND MOULDED 'LONGQUAN' CELADON 'CHRYSANTHEMUM' VASE MING DYNASTY

robustly potted with a bulbous body rising to a waisted neck flaring to a wide everted rim, the body moulded and carved with chrysanthemum flowers borne on a continuous leafy scroll, above upright plantain lappets skirting the foot, carved with keyfret below the filet collaring the neck and upright plantain leaves above, the everted rim decorated with a band of chevrons and finished with raised bosses along the edge, all beneath a lustrous olive-green glaze pooling in the recesses

The vase is in good overall condition with the exception of loss of one boss on the rim, a 10cm., diagonal glaze firing line at the shoulder, minor glaze firing imperfections including glaze pulls, glaze firing hairlines extending up from the foot to mid point of the body and minor glaze scratches.
"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 celadon vases of this distinctive form and design are rare; see one similarly decorated with a chrysanthemum scroll in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Yuan dai ciqi, Beijing, 1998, pl. 447. Compare vases of this form but carved with a peony scroll encircling the body, such as one carved with a keyfret around the neck, offered in our London rooms, 7^th June 1994, lot 322; another with leafy scrolls on the neck, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29^th May 2007, lot 1472; and a third carved with panels of fruit and flowers below two bands of flower scrolls on the neck, from the H.M. Knight collection, sold in these rooms, 12^th May 1970, lot 37.

See vases of related form carved with alternating fruiting and flowering sprays within rectangular cartouches, such as one illustrated ibid., pl. 446, and again in Toji taikei, vol. 36, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 88,; and another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the exhibition Age of the Great Khan. Pluralism in Chinese Art and Culture Under the Mongols, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2001, cat. no.  IV-39.