A FINE LONGQUAN CELADON FOLIATE BOWL INCISED WITH FIGURES MING DYNASTY, MID-15TH CENTURY

robustly potted, the deep rounded sides and rim divided into eight bracket foliations, all supported on a straight circular foot, carved on the outside with a continuous landscape of steep rocky cliffs and promontories rising from water, one side with a fisherman seated at the shore, angling with a rod, the rim further decorated with a border of overlapping chevrons evoking the silhouette of stylized hills, the interior centred with an impressed peony spray with a single bloom and a bud in a incised barbed panel, the inner walls decorated with eight petal-shaped panels filled with carved and combed waves below a 'classic' scroll border at the rim, the base with a broad unglazed ring fired to brick red

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1610.

The bowl is in good condition with only some light scratches, an iron spot and a few minor pinholes on the inside. The actual colour is less tinged with yellow comparing to the catalogue illustration.
"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."

Painterly scenes began to be carved on Longquan celadon in the early Ming dynasty and are often based on contemporary blue-and-white porcelains from Jingdezhen. Landscape scenes, however, are very rare and the present motif does not seem to follow any model closely, although related freely sketched designs can be seen on blue-and-white porcelains of the so-called Interregnum period (AD 1436-64) depicting various outdoor scenes but rarely mountainous landscapes.

A similar bowl from the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, Tokyo, New York, and San Francisco, 1980-82, vol. 6, no. 66; one in the Palace Museum, Beijing in Longquan qingci [Longquan celadon], Beijing, 1966, pl. 59; and a landscape-decorated bowl of this form but with incised flower sprays inside is in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, ed. John Ayers, London, 1986, vol. I, no. 492; another with a lotus scroll inside surrounding a ruyi motif was sold in our New York rooms, 6th November 1981, lot 243.