Lot 3103
  • 3103

AN EXTREMELY RARE HEIRLOOM LONGQUAN CELADON BOWL SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY |

Estimate
1,800,000 - 2,200,000 HKD
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Description

  • 11.3 cm, 4 3/8  in.
superbly potted with generously rounded sides rising from a narrow, slightly tapered foot to a softly grooved band below the crisp and gently flared rim, covered overall save for the unglazed footring with a lustrous translucent glaze of soft blue-green tone

Provenance

Mathias Komor, New York, 1952.
The Georges de Batz Collection, no. 75 (label).
Christie's New York, 30th November 1983, lot 331.
The Rodriguez collection (label).
Christie's New York, 20th September 2005, lot 279.
Sotheby's New York, 23rd March 2011, lot 506.

Exhibited

Chinese Ceramics and European Drawings from the Georges de Batz Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1953, no. 75.

Condition

The thin footrim shows a very shallow skin-deep kiln chip over a 2.2 cm section. The piece is otherwise in good condition.
"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."

Catalogue Note

With its elegant form and unctuous glaze, the present bowl is a fine example of the high-Song taste for pure colour and understated refinement. Towards the end of the 12th century, the traditional lime glaze was replaced by a lime-alkali glaze, creating a higher viscosity and softer gloss. Multiple layers of glaze were often applied to capture a jade-like effect; a technique that was probably adopted from the Guan wares of the period. The glaze of the present bowl is a thick lustrous bluish green, often referred to as the kinuta glaze by the Japanese who were especially fond of these wares which were considered masterpieces of the Longquan potter. A slightly smaller bowl of this type, excavated in 1974 at Quzhou, Zhejiang province, from the tomb of Shi Shengzu and his wife, dated to the 10th year of Xianchun (corresponding to 1274), is published in Dated Ceramics of the Song, Liao and Jin Periods, Beijing, 2004, pl. 6-19; and another, recovered from the Sinan ship wreck off the coast of Korea, was included in the Special Exhibition of Cultural Relics Found off the Sinan Coast, National Museum of Korea, Seoul, 1977, cat. no. 8. Further examples, all of slightly smaller size, include one from the collection of Sir Percival David and now in the British Museum, London, published in Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997, Revised Ed., pl. 252; one, previously from the Lord Cunliffe collection, included in the exhibition Heaven and Earth Seen Within. Song Ceramics from the Robert Barron Collection, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, 2000, cat. no. 59; another was exhibited in Song Dynasty Ceramics: The Ronald W. Longsdorf Collection, J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 2013, cat. no. 10; and a fourth bowl, from the Thomas Barlow Walker collection, was sold twice in our New York rooms, 26th September 1972, lot 682, and 23rd/24th May 1974, lot 321. See also another bowl, but with a broader groove, published in the Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum. Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo, 1988, pl. 461.

The form of this bowl, with its gently grooved rim and short foot, may have been inspired by black Jian wares which were popular vessels in tea ceremonies; for example see a brown-splashed bowl in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum's exhibition The Far-Reaching Fragrance of Tea. The Art and Culture of Tea in Asia, Taipei, 2015, cat. no. I-14.