A RARE RUSSET-SPLASHED DARK BROWN-GLAZED TRUNCATED VASE (TULU PING) NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

sturdily potted, the body of compressed form tapering to a flat base, with rounded shoulders surmounted by a short neck flaring to a flat everted rim, applied overall with a lustrous dark-brown glaze continuing onto the interior of the neck, liberally splashed with russet-brown and falling in a neat line just above the base exposing the unglazed gray ware, the unglazed base with hastily applied streaks of blackish-brown glaze

Collection of Johannes Hellner, Stockholm.
Christie's New York, 20th March 2001, lot 202.

Bo Gyllensvard, Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, Tokyo, 1982, vol. 8, pl. 159.

There is restoration along a 2 1/2 in. section of the rim, which has been well restored and it is impossible to see the extent of the original damage but it appears to have had part of the rim broken and possibly partly made up. There is a further smaller area of restoration on the other side of the rim edge. The vase is in otherwise generally good condition with some minor surface scratching to the glaze.
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 russet-colored spontaneous splashes applied over the lustrous dark brown glaze must have evolved naturally from the experimental nature of competing Song dynasty kilns which produced black and brown-glazed wares for the thriving domestic and export tea ware market. On the present vase, the applied matte, iron-red glaze contrasts dramatically with the brilliant dark brown glaze beneath. The use of this glaze technique is particularly effective on this truncated form of vase, as the thin, viscous glaze and splashes condense around the small, flat mouth rim, gathering lightly around the shoulders, gradually elongating as the glaze pulls down the sides. As no two 'splashes' can be the same, the random, serendipitous character of this decorative technique must have been a large part of its appeal to the Song literati.

Vases of this form and decoration are rare.  Compare a closely related example with a shorter neck, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. III (ii), 2006, no. 1510. A similar example, although of smaller dimension and more vigorously applied splashes, is illustrated in Sekei toji zenshu, Tokyo, 1977, vol. 12, p. 244, pl. 246.