Page 44 - Tianminlou Hong Kong Sotheby's April 3 2019

Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Blue and white ‘winged dragon’ jarlet, mark and period of Xuande Blue and white ‘winged dragon’ jarlet, mark and period of Chenghua
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 11th April 2008, lot 2931 © Asia Society / Art Resource, NY
圖一 圖二
明宣德 青花海水騰龍紋小罐 《大明宣德年製》款 明成化 青花海水騰龍紋小罐 《大明成化年製》款
香港蘇富比 2008 年 4 月 11 日，編號 2931 © 亞洲協會 / 紐約藝術資源中心（Art Resource ）

What is particularly interesting about this group is that No jar of this design, of any period, appears to be preserved
all these jars, no matter of what period, show the unusual in the Palace Museum collections today kept in Beijing and
‘stepped’ rather than a flat base – a feature that half a Taipei, and not only the design but also the form of this jar
century ago, when little excavated material of the Ming is altogether extremely rare among the repertoire of the
dynasty had been published, led to the now rejected imperial kilns in the early Ming dynasty.
proposal to date the whole group after the Xuande reign Prior to the Tianminlou collection, this jar already belonged
(Margaret Medley, ‘Re-Grouping 15th Century Blue and to another highly important Hong Kong collector of Chinese
White’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. art: T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), shipping magnate and leading
34, 1962-63, pp. 83-96). This attribution has not been real estate developer of Hong Kong. Chao collected
borne out by archaeological discoveries since. While it Chinese art for many decades, and besides porcelains
remains puzzling that this unusual feature should suddenly also sought out classical paintings and calligraphies as
appear, be retained over several reigns and then totally well as jades. An exhibition of one hundred Ming and
disappear again, it may well have been introduced for Qing porcelains from his collection was held at the Hong
technical reasons, perhaps to reduce the thickness of part Kong Museum of Art in 1978, two sales of the collection at
of the base. Such an intention is believed to have resulted Sotheby’s in 1986 and 1987, where S.C. Ko acquired this
in some Longquan celadon wares having a hole cut into the jar.
thick base that was closed again with a thin plaque.