A FINE CARVED 'LONGQUAN' CELADON 'LOTUS' DISH YUAN DYNASTY

the stoutly-potted curved sides rising from a short tapering foot to a broad everted lipped rim, the interior freely and well-carved with a lotus medallion and encircled in the well by leafy scrolling lotus leaves below a band of hatched and horizontal lines, covered overall in a lustrous and rich bluish-green glaze, the base with an unglazed ring burnt orange in the firing

 

Collection of Mrs. Anne How.
Christie's London, 19th April 1983, lot 264.
Marion Hammer Collection.
J.J. Lally Ltd., New York.

Successful examples of Longquan celadon require sound, well- proportioned potting, a strong, balanced and vibrant decoration and for the firing to result in a pleasing, bright yet subtle combination of blue-green. The present dish satisfies all three of these demanding criteria. Three dishes of similar size, date and decoration, but lacking the additional carved band below the rim, are illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. I, London, 1986, p. 258, nos. 69, 70 and 71.