Page 32 - Important Chinese Art, Sotheby's London May 15 2019

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PROPERTY FROM THE RUI XIU LOU COLLECTION ‘Jun’ ware, with its ravishing purple-and-blue ‘Jun’ wares were produced by many different
A PURPLE-SPLASHED ‘JUN’ BUBBLE colour combination, is one the most daring manufactories in Henan, including the Ru
BOWL creations in the history of Chinese ceramics kilns at Qingliangsi in Baofeng, as evidenced
and certainly the most flamboyant of the major
by archaeological excavations, see Baofeng
NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY wares of the Song dynasty (960-1279). It is Qingliangsi Ruyao/Ru Yao at Qingliangsi in
well potted with deep rounded sides rising exceptional also because its basic, bright sky- Baofeng, Zhengzhou, 2008, col. pl. 183; and
to a slightly incurved rim, covered overall in blue glaze colour derives not from a pigment Gugong Bowuyuan cang Zhongguo gudai yaozhi
a rich glossy lavender-blue glaze fading to a but from an optical illusion – indeed not unlike biaoben [Specimens from ancient Chinese kiln
mushroom tone around the rim, suffused with the blue of the sky – as minute spherules of sites in the collection of the Palace Museum],
mottled splashes of deep lavender and blue glass in the glaze are scattering blue light. The vol. 1: Henan juan [Henan volume], Beijing,
tone to the interior and exterior, the glaze falling red derives from a copper-rich pigment applied 2005, passim. The centre of production, where
short of the foot revealing the dark brown body to the blue glaze, which is difficult to control in the finest wares were produced, was located
8.5 cm, 3⅜ in. the firing and thus particularly unpredictable in the modern county of Yuxian, in the former
in its outcome. This chance effect is part of the region of Junzhou fragments of plain blue and
PROVENANCE ware’s attraction, making every piece unique, purple-splashed ‘bubble’ bowls excavated there
J.J. Lally, New York. with individual patterns and tonal variations are illustrated ibid., pl. 447.
Sotheby’s London, 16th May 2012, lot 87. created as if by nature.
‘Jun’ ware is also unusual among the important
‡ £ 40,000-60,000
HK$ 411,000-620,000 US$ 52,500-79,000 Song wares in being thickly potted, thus lending
itself to simple shapes. Among the various ‘Jun’
北宋 鈞窰藍釉紫斑小盌 ware bowl shapes, perhaps the most delightful
is that of these small bowls, probably used for
來源 wine, with their well-rounded, plump and pleas-
J.J. Lally，紐約 ing forms, elegant in profile because of the small
倫敦蘇富比2012年5月16日，編號87 foot and in-turned lip, appealing to hold in one’s
hands and to drink from.

30 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.