Page 238 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

PROPERTY OF AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTOR
1741
A RARE LARGE LONGQUAN CELADON CONG-FORM VASE
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)
Finely potted in imitation of a Neolithic jade cong, the vase has a rectangular Longquan celadon cong-form vases were made in various sizes, as
body of square section with a cylindrical foot and short neck, and is covered represented by three illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in The Idemitsu
overall with a glaze of rich sea-green color stopping just short of the foot rim to Museum, Tokyo, 1987, pls. 466-468, 16¿ in., 10¡ in. and 9º in. high,
expose the light grey stoneware body. respectively. However, examples of large size appear to be rare, and include
the 16¿ in.-high vase in the Idemitsu Museum mentioned above; one (16 in.)
15º in. (38.6 cm.) high, Japanese wood box
in the Percival David Collection, currently on loan to the British Museum,
illustrated by Margaret Medley in Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares,
$400,000-600,000
London, 1977, pl. VII, no. 73; one in the Indianapolis Museum of Art (16º in.)
illustrated by Y. Mino and J. Robinson, Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly
PROVENANCE Collection of Chinese Art, 1983, pl. 76; and another (16¿ in.) sold at Christie’s
Dr. T. T. Tsui (1941-2010) Collection. Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3402. Other vases of a smaller size include
one (11º in.) in the Shanghai Museum included in the exhibition, Treasures
LITERATURE
from the Shanghai Museum: 6000 Years of Chinese Art, 1983-1984, pl. XXVI;
The Tsui Musuem of Art, Splendour of Ancient Chinese Art: Selections from the
the example (10 in.) illustrated by R. L. d’Argencé in Chinese Ceramics in the
Collections of T.T. Tsui Galleries of Chinese Art Worldwide, Hong Kong, 1996,
Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1967, pl. XLIV, fg. A; and the vase
no. 37.
(10 in.) in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Treasures of
the Palace Museum - 33 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996,
The form of this vase is based on a jade ritual object, cong, that has a
cylindrical core and a square exterior, such as the jade cong dating to the pp. 108-109, pl. 97.
Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, in the Nanjing Museum, included in 南宋 龍泉青釉琮式大瓶
the exhibition, China: 5,000 Years, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
New York, 1998, pl. 5. Such artifacts were enthusiastically collected by the
educated elite of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, prompting the
production of contemporary vessels in bronze and stoneware based on the
antique prototypes.

(another view with box)

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