A RARE 'LONGQUAN' CELADON 'DRAGON AND BIRD' JAR AND COVER SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the tall ovoid body finely potted with three ribs encircling the upper body and supported on a flared foot, applied at the shoulder in high relief with a powerful dragon with long sinuous body coiled around the sides in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', poised with mighty paws set with outstretched talons gripped to the surface, set with ferocious gaping jaws, bulbous eyes and long horns, the body carved with scale pattern and flaming mane, the domed cover surmounted by a bird-form finial, covered all over in an even celadon-green glaze, the unglazed footring and mouth rim burnt russet-brown in the firing

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 21st May 1985, lot 73.
Sotheby’s London, 12th November, 2003, lot 79.

Selected Treasures of Chinese Art, Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990-91, cat. no. 112.
Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 57.

This jar and cover is in good condition, but there is damage and loss to the right horn at the end of the snout of the dragon. are two firing cracks runnning from the interior of the rim of the cover (which are visible to the exterior). There is also a minor manufacturing flaw/ommission to 2.5cm by 3mm area of the centre of the interior of the cover. There are also some glaze cracks running through the body and head of the dragon. There is a minfor frit to the base of the bird finial to one side and damage to its beak.
"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."

Funerary jars of this type are described by Julian Thompson in 'Chinese Celadons', Arts of Asia, November-December, 1993, p. 62, as belonging to the finest Longquan celadon vessels recorded. The glaze of the present jar is a thick lustrous bluish green, often referred to as the kinuta glaze by the Japanese who were especially fond of these wares. Kinuta wares are considered as masterpieces of the Longquan potter, who prepared the perfect glaze executed masterful knowledge and skill over his kiln.   A related jar and cover, from the Avery Brundage collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, is illustrated in Mary Tregear, Song Ceramics, London, 1982, pl. 286; another, from the Charles Russell and H.M. Knight collections, was sold in these rooms, 12^th July 1960, lot 147, and again, 15^th July 1980, lot 75; and a further example, from Eskenazi, London, and illustrated in Julian Thompson, op. cit., p. 61, fig. 1 left, was sold in these rooms, 8^th November 2006, lot 53.  Compare also a jar and cover in the Indianapolis Museum of Art included in the exhibition Beauty and Tranquillity: the Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1983, pl. 78; another of similar size and with a domed cover surmounted by a bird finial, from the collection of Warren E. Cox, included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics in Chicago Collections, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1982, p. 35, cat. no. 19, sold twice in our New York rooms, 24^th May 1944, lot 53, and again, 19^th March 2007, lot 138; and a third example, from the Carl Kempe collection, sold in these rooms, 14^th may 2008, lot 312.  

It is thought that funerary jars of this type were made in pairs, one bearing the 'Green Dragon' of the East and the other the 'White Tiger' of the West. A pair from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, is published in Margaret Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares, London, 1977, pl. IV, no. 36, where she notes that these jars may have been filled with aromatic oils.