Page 16 - Important Chinese Art, Sotheby's London May 15 2019

5

PROPERTY FROM THE RUI XIU LOU COLLECTION
A PURPLE-SPLASHED ‘JUN’ TRIPOD CENSER
SONG / JIN DYNASTY
the globular body with a broad tapering neck and flat everted
rim, supported on three short cabriole legs, covered with
a pale-blue glaze liberally applied with a large single splash
transferring from purple to a purplish-red tone, the glaze
thinning to a buff tone at the rim and falling short of the base
of the legs to reveal the buff-coloured stoneware body
10.4 cm, 4⅛ in.
PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s London, 16th May 2012, lot 86.
‡ £ 50,000-70,000
HK$ 515,000-720,000 US$ 65,500-92,000
宋/金 鈞窰天藍釉紫斑三足爐

來源
倫敦蘇富比2012年5月16日，編號86

This censer is remarkable for its thick luminous glaze that
ranges from milky white on the neck to a deeper speck-
led blue. A large brilliant purple splash enlivens its overall
appearance, while an attractive web of crackles is visible
at the neck and on the interior. Inspired by archaic bronze
prototypes, Jun censers of this form decorated with bright
splashes of purplish-red derived from copper, were made
th
from the 12 century. As seen on this censer, the splashes
added a flamboyant effect to the piece, often with a strong
calligraphic quality that was of immense appeal to the literati
and nobility of the time.
A splashed censer of similar proportions, from the collec-
tions of Alfred Shoenilight, F. Brodie and Enid Lodge, and the
Meiyintang collection, now in the Musée Cernuschi, Paris,
was included in the Museum’s exhibition L’âge d’or de la
céramique chinoise, Paris, 1999, cat. no. 36; another in the
Baur collection, Geneva, is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur
Collection, Geneva. Chinese Ceramics, vol. 1, Geneva, 1968,
th
pl. A37; and a third was sold in our New York rooms, 19 Sep-
tember 2002, lot 79. See also a slightly smaller censer of this
type, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Selection of
Jun Ware. The Palace Museum Collection and Archaeological
Excavation, Beijing, 2013, pl. 29; and another from the Muw-
en Tang collection, included in the exhibition Song Ceramics
from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong
th
Kong, 1994, cat. no. 42, and sold at Christie‘s London, 8
th
June 1989, lot 49, and again in these rooms, 12 November
2003, lot 49.

14 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 circumstanc-
es). Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.