Page 46 - Sotheby's London Important Chinese Art Nov. 2019

137

A BLUE AND WHITE POURING BOWL, YI
YUAN DYNASTY

the rounded sides resting on a slightly concave base,
one side set with an outward flaring spout above a small
loop handle, the interior painted with a central medallion
enclosing a lotus bouquet, surrounded by a floral scroll
on the cavetto, the exterior encircled with lotus lappets,
the rim and base unglazed
Length 18.3 cm, 7¼ in.
Known as yi, bowls of this form appears to have been used
as pouring vessels together with yuhuchun vases. Chiumei
Ho in ‘Social Life Under the Mongols as Seen in Ceramics’,
Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 59, 1994-
95, p. 44, notes that in archaeological contexts they are
often found together with such vases and wine cups. This
pairing is also depicted in a wall painting from the tomb
of Zhang Andabuhua and his wife, which has been dated
to 1269 A.D., and is illustrated in the catalogue to the
exhibition The World of Khubilai Khan. Chinese Art in the
Yuan Dynasty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
2010, p. 83, fig. 115.
Several pouring bowls of this form and decorated with
various floral designs, are illustrated in Zhongguo taoci
quanji, vol. 11, Shanghai, 2000, pls 213-217; one depicting
a hare, in the British Museum, London, is published
in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British
Museum, London, 2000, pl. 1:22.
Bowls of this form were probably inspired by metal
prototypes, such as the silver pouring bowl excavated
together with a yuhuchun ping from a hoard in Hefei,
Anhui province, illustrated ibid., p. 287, figs 330 and 331.
These bowls were also used also by Mongols in Iran, as
exemplified by the bowl painted in the Enthronement
Scene, part of the album Jami al-tavarikh (Compendium
of Chronicles), which was commissioned between the
reigns of Ghazan (r. 1295-1304) and his brother, Öljeitü
(r. 1304-1316), included in the exhibition The Legacy of
Genghis Khan. Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia,
(1256-1353), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
2002, cat. no. 19, fig. 84. The shape was probably copied
from metal prototypes and a very similar silver pouring
bowl was found together with a silver yuhuchun ping in
a hoard at Hefei, Anhui province, which contained items
inscribed with a name written in Phagspa characters as
well as a date equivalent to 1333, both now in the Anhui
Museum Provincial Museum, published in the exhibition
catalogue The World of Kublilai Khan. Chinese Art in the
Yuan Dynasty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
2010, p. 83, fig. 115
‡ £ 40,000-60,000
HK$ 391,000-590,000 US$ 50,000-75,000
元 青花一把蓮紋匜

44 Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estimated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right (which will depend on the individual circumstances).
Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.