Page 330 - Christies IMportant Chinese Art Sept 26 2020 NYC

PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE NORTH AMERICAN COLLECTION
1812
A VERY RARE LARGE LONGQUAN CELADON CARVED
BOWL
EARLY MING DYNASTY, 15TH CENTURY
The heavily potted bowl has deep, rounded sides, and is carved in the examples preserved in Japanese collections today. Excavations at the
center of the interior with a dense foliate medallion below a band of Longquan Dayao kiln site have revealed sherds bearing official marks,
composite foliate scroll in the well and a border of lingzhi scroll at the and other excavations have emphasized that fine Longquan wares
rim. The exterior is carved with a continuous band of two repeated were also made at other kiln sites in the Ming dynasty.
lotus pond vignettes, with lotus plants, and various water weeds and
grasses, between borders of flower-filled petal lappets below and A slightly smaller bowl (32.5 cm. diam.) with simpler decoration
lingzhi scroll above. The foot is encircled by a band of key fret. The bowl than on the current bowl in the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial
is covered overall with a glaze of soft olive-green color that continues Museum is illustrated in Longquan qingci, Taipei, 1998, p. 274, no.
over the foot onto the base where there is an unglazed ring burnt 260). A further bowl from the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial
orange in the firing. Museum, also of slightly smaller size (30.3 cm. diam.), was included in
the exhibition Green Wares from Zhejiang in Hong Kong, 1993, no. 79.
15¡ in. (39 cm.) diam.
Similar bowls, dated to c. AD 1400, are in the collection of the Topkapi
Saray, Istanbul. One slightly smaller than the current bowl (36 cm.
$20,000-30,000 diam.) is illustrated by J. Ayers and R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics in the
Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, Vol. I, Yuan and Ming Dynasty Celadon
PROVENANCE: Wares, London, 1986, p. 359, no. 488, while a group of four slightly
Important Chinese Ceramics from a European Private Collection;
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4 November 1997, lot 1393. larger bowls (38-40 cm. diam.) are described on p. 295 of the same
publication, one being illustrated as no. 222. Two further examples
are in the collection of the British Museum, London. One of similar
明初十五世紀 龍泉窯青釉刻蓮塘水藻紋大盌 size to the current example is illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall in Ming
Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 480, no. 16:47, while
a slightly smaller bowl is illustrated in the same volume, no. 16:48. All
Longquan celadons were much admired both inside China and abroad these bowls have dense decoration with a distinctive decorative band
during the Song and Yuan dynasties, but they were also very highly around the exterior rim, like that on the current bowl, often bearing
regarded in the early Ming period. Documentary, as well as recent a lingzhi scroll. The interiors, like that of the current bowl, have a
archaeological evidence, has confirmed that they were made for the central floral medallion and a floral scroll around the interior walls.
early Ming court, while fine early Ming celadons preserved in the They all have an unglazed ring on the exterior base to allow firing on a
Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul and in the Ardebil Collection in the cylindrical setter. All are evenly potted and bear generous, soft green,
Iran Bastan in Tehran, also bear witness to the popularity of Longquan glazes. A slightly smaller bowl (32 cm. diam.) of this type is in the
celadons at courts in the Near East. The enthusiastic appreciation collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Bilu -
of contemporary Japanese patrons is also evidenced by the fine Mingdai Longquanyao qingci, Taipei, 2009, pp. 66-7, no. 26.

(another view)