Page 125 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Song Ceramics
P. 125

A dapted from an archaic bronze form, this elegant censer                 II-5.6.7, all with fitted wooden covers with Yuan (1279-1368) or Ming
       reflects the major impact on the arts that resulted from           (1368-1644) jade carvings as knobs, a type known to have been
a drastic political shift during the early Song dynasty, from a           commissioned by the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735) from the
society ruled by a hereditary aristocracy to one governed by a            palace workshops.
central bureaucracy of scholar-officials selected through civil
service examinations. The resulting rise of Neo-Confucian ideals          Another censer of this size, with two ribs near the mouth and also with
emphasised the importance of history in the pursuit of virtue. The        a metal rim mount, from the Carl Kempe collection and illustrated
increased interest in antiquities led to a revival of archaic jade and    in Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection,
bronze forms that Song potters adapted into their repertoire. The         Stockholm, 1964, pl. 447, was sold in our London rooms, 14th May
present censer finds its roots in gilt bronze tripod wine vessels         2008, lot 238; another is illustrated in Hsien-ch’i Tseng & Robert
(zun) of the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), generally supported           Paul Dart, The Charles B. Hoyt Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts:
on bear-shaped feet, fitted with ring handles and supplied with a         Boston, vol. II, Boston, 1972, pl. 29; a larger example, in the Palace
cover, such as an example decorated with animals, that is engraved        Museum, Beijing, is published in Selection of Ding Ware. The Palace
with an inscription identifying it as a wine vessel (jiu zun) and dating  Museum Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2012, pl.
it in accordance with the year 26 BC, illustrated in Li Xueqin, ed.,      41, together with a slightly smaller version excavated from Tomb 1
Zhongguo meishu quanji: Gongyi meishu bian [Complete series on            in Yangjiawan, Changsha, Hunan province, and now in the Hunan
Chinese art: Arts and crafts section], 5: Qingtong qi [Bronzes], vol.     Provincial Museum, pl. 40; and another in the Tianjin City Art Museum,
2, Beijing, 1986, pl. 217, together with another gilt-bronze wine zun     Tianjin, is published in Tianjin Shi Yishu Bowuguan cang ci/Porcelains
with matching tripod stand in the Palace Museum, Beijing, pl. 236,        from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 26. Compare
which is decorated with a triple raised band in the centre and single     also a much smaller fragmentary example recovered from the Ding kiln
bands at rim and base, not unlike the present piece, and attributed       site in Quyang, Hebei province, illustrated in Zhongguo gu ciyao daxi.
to the reign of Guangwudi, AD 25-57.                                      Zhongguo Dingyao/Series of China’s Ancient Porcelain Kiln Sites: Ding
                                                                          Kiln of China, Beijing, 2012, pl. 108.
For ceramic incense burners, this shape was popular from the Song
dynasty right through to modern times, and this Ding version with         This ribbed tripod form was also adopted at other official kilns that
simple raised ribs, became a classic. Five similar Ding examples, in      produced wares for the court, for example, the Ru kilns in Baofeng,
various shapes and proportions and with different arrangements            Henan province, see Wang Qingzheng, Fan Dongqing & Zhou Lili,
of raised ribs, were included in the exhibition Gugong lidai xiangju      Ruyao de faxian/The Discovery of Ru Kiln, Hong Kong, 1991, pls 59
tulu/A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers                and 66, for a piece from the collection of Sir Percival David, now in the
Throughout the Dynasties, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1994,           British Museum, London, and one from the Palace Museum, Beijing;
cat. nos 35-39, together with a roughly contemporary Jingdezhen           and at the Hangzhou guan (‘official’) kilns, see a piece in the National
copy, cat. no. 44, a later Dehua copy, cat. no. 67, and a ‘Guang          Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Gui si
ware’ copy, probably from Guangzhou, cat. no. 71, all from the            chenxing. Qing gong chuanshi 12 zhi 14 shiji qingci tezhan/Precious
collection of the National Palace Museum. Three of the five Ding          as the Morning Star. 12th-14th Century Celadons in the Qing Court
censers in Taipei were also included in the exhibition Dingzhou           Collection, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2016, cat. no. II-2, where
hua ci. Yuan zang Dingyaoxi baici tezhan/Decorated Porcelains             the author mentions, p. 67, related examples excavated from both the
of Dingzhou. White Ding wares from the collection of the National         Laohudong and the Jiaotanxia kiln sites in Hangzhou.
Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, cat. no.

SONG — IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS FROM THE LE CONG TANG COLLECTION |                                                                                 123
   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130