A RARE QINGBAI EWER AND COVER YUAN DYNASTY

well potted, the pear-shaped body rising to a tall flared neck, supported on a splayed foot with a prominent flange, the body set with a slender curved spout issuing from the mouth of a dragon, connected to the body by an elaborate S-shaped bridge, set opposite with a curved handle formed by the scaly body of a fish-dragon with the opened mouth swallowing the top of the handle, its mane forming a small loop for attaching the cover, its tail fanning out into a large trefoil motif applied in relief, the body decorated on either side with a phoenix in flight with upturned scrolling tail and a cloud motif, cut from thin sheets of clay and applied with incised details, above a band of upright lappets containing ruyi heads, the neck collared by a key-fret band of pearl strings and slip-painted upright petal lappets containing scroll motifs, all beneath an icy blue-green transparent glaze, fitted with a stepped domed cover and a small eyelet for attachment to the ewer, surmounted by a seated lion delicately modelled with a thick beard, long mane, and bushy tail bent to one side, its left foreleg resting on a ball with thin freely modelled ribbons and a bell tied around its neck

Messrs John Sparks, London.
Collection of Mr and Mrs Otto Doering, Snr.
Christie's New York, 9th November 1978, lot 125.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York.

The Art Institute of Chicago (on loan).
Chinese Porcelain and Silver in the Song Dynasty, J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 2002, cat. no. 30 (illustrated).

John Ayers, 'Some Characteristic Wares of the Yüan Dynasty', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 29, 1954-5, pl. 38, fig. 17.
Margaret Medley, Yüan Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1974, pl. 10.
Anthony du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1984, p. 110, fig. 1.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1614.

The overall condition is quite good with only glaze gaps, firing flaws and a few minor chips. The tip of the spout has a tiny flake. The loop on the top of the handle is chipped. There are glaze gaps around the luting lines at the handle and foot. The glaze has a few minor pin holes. The lion on the cover has two chipped ears and glaze shrinkage on the back. There is also a few minute chips to the ribbons on the back of the lion.
"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."

This ewer reflects the quest for richer ornamentation in the second half of the Yuan dynasty, which eventually was satisfied by the introduction of underglaze painting in colour. It shows the remarkably wide repertoire of decoration techniques experimented with at the time, such as moulding, incising, slip painting, dotted surface structuring, application of clay sheets, freely modelled motifs and pearl strings.

A very similar ewer without cover in the Tokyo National Museum is published in Yutaka Mino, Chūgoku no tōji. Hakuji/Chinese Ceramics. White Porcelain, Tokyo, 1998, col. pl. 79, perhaps the piece illustrated also in Mikami Tsugio, ed., Sekai tōji zenshū/Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 13, Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 42. A simpler version of this design, perhaps made somewhat earlier than the present ewer, was among the porcelains recovered from the shipwreck off Shinan, Korea, which can be dated to AD 1323; that ewer has a similar phoenix design in relief, but is lacking any applied motifs and has a plain spout, handle and cover; see Relics Salvaged from the Seabed off Sinan. Materials I, Seoul, 1985, pl. 67. A similar smaller ewer without cover, from the collection of a Vietnamese Princess, was sold at Christie's New York, 22nd April 1999, lot 256.

A pair of meiping vases with similar, but perhaps also somewhat simpler lion covers, excavated from a tomb of AD 1324 in Wannian county, Jiangxi province, is published in Wenwu 1977, no. 4, pl. 9, fig. 5. A fragment of a similar ewer, excavated from a Yuan city site in Inner Mongolia, is published in Chen Yongzhi, ed., Nei Menggu Jininglu gu cheng yizhi chutu ciqi/Porcelain Unearthed from Jininglu Ancient City Site in Inner Mongolia, Beijing, 2004, p. 20, fig. 13; and a similar fragment of a dragon handle, excavated from the Yuan remains at Luomaqiao, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, in Ceramic Finds from Jingdezhen Kilns (10th - 17th Century), Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1992, cat. no. 116.