A LONGQUAN CELADON VASE SONG DYNASTY |

the globular body rising from a short tapered foot to a tall neck and everted dished rim, covered overall save for the footring in a sage-green glaze

Collection of Dr Carl Kempe (1884-1967).
Sotheby's London, 5th November 2008, lot 542.

Bo Gyllensvard, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 96.

A few shallow chips to the footring and a glaze gap of approx. 1 cm to mouth. Occasional glaze wear and discolouration (especially to the rims), as well as minor surface 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."

A small Southern Song Longquan celadon vase of this exquisite form, from the collections of Mrs Alfred Clark and Edward T. Chow, was sold in these rooms, 16th December 1980, lot 299, and is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, pl. 555. Another slightly smaller vase of similar shape, in the Longquan City Museum, is included in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 8, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 73; and a related vase with a less globular body but similar long neck is published in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 456. A related vase was discovered in a Yuan tomb at Dongxi, Jianyang county, Sichuan province, and is published in Wenwu, 1987, no. 2, pl. 7, fig. 3. Compare also another included in Ireneus Laszlo Legeza, A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Malcolm Macdonald Collection of Chinese Ceramics,  London, 1972, nos 92 and 93; and another in the Michel Calmann collection, now in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Terra de neige, de Glace, et d'Ombre, Taipei, 1999, cat. no. 33. See also a vase sold in these rooms, 20th November 1985, lot 5; and another two sold in our London rooms, 7th June 2000, lot. 114; and 16th May 2007, lot 205, the latter from the collection of Sir H. Ingram.