A 'LONGQUAN' CELADON MALLET VASE SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the cylindrical body rising from a low footrim to a canted shoulder sweeping up to a tall cylindrical neck, flanked on each side by a pair of dragon-fish handles, all below a wide everted dished rim with slightly upturned lip, covered overall with a sea-green glaze, draining to a paler tone at the edges, the unglazed hand-pared footrim of a buff colour

The vase is in overall good condition with the exception of a 5mm., oval iron spot to the shoulder, a 6mm., glaze firing imperfection to the rim, a 15mm., long shallow flake to the outside edge of the footring, a 7mm., flake to the inside edge of the footring (possibly contemporary with manufacture) some further minor shallow foot chips, very minor polishing to the rim, minor glaze unevenness and pooling and minor glaze scratches.
"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."

Celadon vases of this 'mallet' shape, which is generally known under the Japanese term kinuta, are among the most sought-after Longquan vessels.  It has been suggested by several scholars that this shape, despite resembling a paper mallet, may in fact have been introduced to China as a glass vase or bottle from the Islamic west, possibly Iran. An Islamic glass bottle vase, probably from Nishapur, North East Iran, was among the treasures found in the tomb of the Princess of Chen, Liao dynasty, dating to no later than 1018 and illustrated in Grand View: Special Exhibition of Ju Ware from the Northern Sung Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2007, cat. no. 25, fig. 2. Fragments of glass vessels of this shape were found in 1997 among the excavated material from the cargo of the Intan shipwreck excavated off the Indonesian coast. This ship is believed to date to the Northern Song period. Furthermore according to the Yi Jian Zhi by the Song scholar official Hong Mai, Emperor Huizong owned a collection of imported glass.

Kinuta vases with dragon-fish, feiyu, handles are rare and particularly so in this large size. The mythological feiyu, considered a good omen, was a popular motif during the Yuan dynasty and may well have travelled along nomadic paths, originating in the ancient Near East through Central Asia into China. A Yuan dynasty gold cup with feiyu handles in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, exhibited in The Legacy of Genghis Kahn, Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2002, p. 18, fig. 11, cat. no. 139, attests to the association with fine decorative wares.

A closely related vase, from the collection of Enid and Brodie Lodge, included in several exhibitions such as Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 422, was sold in these rooms, 8th July 1975, lot 91; and one with a crackled glaze, from the collections of Warren E. Cox and Frederick M. Mayer, was sold at Christie’s London, 24th June 1974, lot 61. A slightly smaller vase of this type, in the Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya, was included in the exhibition Heavenly Blue. Southern Song Celadon, Nezu Art Museum, Tokyo, 2010, cat. no. 23; together with two further examples, cat. nos 24 and 25, the latter in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo; another from the Carl Kempe collection is illustrated in Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 99; and a further vase, reputedly from the collection of Lord Matsudaira Fumai, was sold at Christies Ney York, 19th March 2008, lot 561.

Mallet vases were more commonly made with phoenix handles; see five vases from Japanese museum collections, included in the exhibition Heavenly Blue. Southern Song Celadons, op. cit., cat. nos 17-22; a vase from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 16th December 1980, lot 300; another sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 1994, lot 530; and a further vase, from the Linyushanren collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 15th September 2016, lot 717.

Mallet vases are also known without handles; see for example the superb vase sold in these rooms, 8th November 2006, lot 54, currently on loan from the Xiling Collection to the Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Boston and published in Sekai toji zenshu/Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 10, Tokyo, 1955, pl. 45.