Page 168 - 2020 October 8 HK Fine Classical Paintings

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A RARE LONGQUAN ‘GUAN’ LOBED CUP 南宋 龍泉官窰六瓣葵花式小盃
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY
來源：
of mallow form, the six lobed sides resting on a tall footring,
applied overall save for the pale grey footring with a greyish 傳日本收藏
sea-green glaze suffused with a network of golden crackle and
pooling at the recesses, Japanese wood box
9.4 cm, 3⅝ in.
PROVENANCE
A Japanese collection, by repute.
HK$ 800,000-1,000,000
US$ 104,000-129,000

This exquisite cup with its delicate floral form, thin potting
and unctuous grey-celadon glaze with a fine web of crackles,
belongs to a group of celadon wares made to resemble the
fabled guan (official) wares that were produced for the imperial
court during the Southern Song dynasty. The attractive jade-
like glaze of these pieces is particularly thick as it was applied
in multiple layers that required successive firing, a method
that was most probably borrowed from the imperial kilns at
Laohudong in Hangzhou where guan ware was produced. The
subtle web of crackles was also similarly achieved through a
well-controlled cooling process after the last firing.
Longquan celadon wares of this type are discussed by Zhu
Boqian in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pp.
37-39, who notes that two distinct types were made, those
with a dark body and a thick glaze, such as this piece, and
those with a light grey body; see two dark-bodied Longquan
cups of round shape with a crackled glaze excavated in
Huzhou, Zhejiang province, illustrated ibid., pls 141 and 142.
Two cups of this elegant floral form and size, formerly in the
Arthur M. Sackler and Else Sackler collections, were sold
together at Christie’s New York, 20th-27th March 2018, lot
44; another cup from the collection of Mrs Alfred Clark, with
more defined petals, was sold in our London rooms, 25th
March 1975, lot 60; and a further example, was included in the
exhibition Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong
Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 65, and sold in our
London rooms, 12th November 2003, lot 78.
Compare two slightly larger guan cups of this form, covered
in a lighter crackled glaze, in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei, were included in the Museum’s exhibition Precious as
the Morning Star: 12th-14th Century Celadons in the Qing Court
Collection, Taipei, 2016, cat. no. II-33.

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