A LONGQUAN CELADON 'FLOWER' VASE, YUHUCHUNPING MING DYNASTY, EARLY 15TH CENTURY

superbly potted, of pear-shaped form, the swelling body tapering to a slender waisted neck and everted rim, supported on a short foot, deftly and densely carved around the body in a free manner with lotus flowers, broad furling leaves and lotus pods, all between pendant ruyi collaring the shoulder and a band of petal lappets enclosing trefoils around the base, the neck encircled by upright leaves above a classic scrolling band, richly applied overall with an unctuous yellowish-green glaze pooling to a darker tone in the recesses, the footring left unglazed and fired deep orange

The vase is in overall very good condition with a firing kiln chip to the foot and a few short firing fissures to the bottom inside the foot. There is a stained iron spot on the shoulder of around 0.4 cm (diameter).
"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."

The fine potting and carving of this vase is accentuated in the lustrous deep celadon glaze. Celadon vessels of this type were often created after contemporaneous wares manufactured in the official kilns at Jingdezhen and frequently have close counterparts in underglaze-blue and underglaze-red decorated porcelain. According to Tsai Mei-fen in the exhibition catalogue ‘Introduction to Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty in the National Palace Museum’, Green. Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2009, pp. 2-22, during the early Ming dynasty imperial ceramics were produced at both Jingdezhen and Longquan. The similarity between the present vase and blue and white counterparts suggests that it is likely to have been made to imperial orders. Variations in decoration occur where the Longquan potters had to adapt the complicated cobalt-painted designs to their own technique of carving.

In size, form and decoration the present vase is closely related to a Longquan yuhuchunping in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 161. It is also comparable to a vase preserved in the former collection of the Ottoman sultans, studded with jewels and fitted with silver-gilt mounts and made into a ewer, included in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Topkapi Saray Museum. Istanbul, vol. 1, London, 1986, pl. 223; and to another bottle vase with lotus design, from the Alexander and Barlow collections, published in Michael Sullivan, Chinese Ceramics. Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 95b, now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. See also a closely related vase sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st October 1991, lot 732, and offered again in our New York rooms, 18th March 2008, lot 103.

For blue and white and copper-red decorated Hongwu period inspirations to the present vase,  see one included in Sekai toji zenshu / Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 13, Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 214; and another underglaze-red decorated vase, in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 2:5. While the main body of the British Museum vase is painted with the design of auspicious plants including a gnarled pine tree, lingzhi fungus, bamboo, prunus and plantain, border motifs around the neck and foot are similar to that seen on the present vase. See also a blue and white vase of the same period, decorated with the design of interlocking peony sprays, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze-Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 14; and two further examples, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, one painted with a lotus scroll and the other with peony scroll, included in Liu Liang-yu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, Taipei, 1991, pp. 22-23. Another related vase, decorated with peony blossoms, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st February 2009, lot 1868.