Lot 357
  • 357

A GUAN-TYPE PEAR-SHAPED VASE SONG – MING DYNASTY |

Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 HKD
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Description

  • 19.6 cm, 7 5/8  in.
well potted with a baluster body rising from a gently splayed foot to a tall flaring neck, covered evenly overall save for the unglazed footring with a pale celadon glaze suffused with a network of crackles and 'earthworm tracks', the pale grey stoneware body burnt dark grey in the firing

Provenance

Collection of Sakamoto Gorō (1923-2016).

Condition

The vase is in good overall condition. There are shallow nicks to the footring and a glaze gap to the base.
"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

The present vase is covered in a crackled guan celadon glaze, originally used on the fabled ‘official ware’ created for the imperial court of the Southern Song (1127-1279) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang of south China. The elegance of its minimalist form – generally referred to as danping, or ‘gall bladder vase’– is particularly appealing to the eyes. Guan vases of this restrained form are rare; see an example with a straight mouth excavated in 1952 from the mid-14th century tomb of Ren family in the town of Zhonggu, Qingpu District, Shanghai, now in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in the catalogue to the exhibition Precious as the Morning Star. 12th-14th Century Celadons in the Qing Court Collection, Taipei, 2016, pp. 165 and 227. Another related guan vase was recently sold in these rooms, 2nd April 2018, lot 3062. Compare also a guan-type example from the Carl Kempe collection and now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, included in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 138.

For vases of similar form covered in related glazes, see two ge examples from the Qing court collection preserved in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, nos 35 and 36; and two slightly shorter vases, both covered in crackled glaze similar to ge wares and dated to the Yuan dynasty, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in Precious as the Morning Star, op.cit., cat. no. IV-14, pp. 226-229, together with another enveloped in a celadon glaze but fewer crackles, probably from the Longquan kilns, attributed to the Southern Song to Yuan dynasty, cat. no. II-47.