Page 240 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

PROPERTY OF AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTOR
1742
A SUPERB ‘KINUTA’ LONGQUAN CELADON WASHER
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)
The washer is fnely potted with an angular profle rising from the short foot color, with the best examples being recognized by the Japanese term ‘kinuta’.
to a slightly everted rim, and is covered overall with an unctuous glaze of even It is, however, extremely rare to fnd a Longquan glaze of sky-blue color such
bluish-green tone with the exception of the foot ring that is fred orange. as that seen on the present washer, which might be compared to the Ru and
5¬ in. (14.3 cm.) diam. Guan glazes.
The exceptionally fne potting of this washer also distinguishes it from other
$400,000-600,000
Longquan wares. The thin and neat trimming of the foot is similar to Guan
wares, such as the examples illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition
The ethereal sky-blue color and extraordinarily tactile, almost silken, quality of Sung Dynasty Kuan Ware, Taipei, 1989, nos. 89, 90, 91, and 100, and is
of the glaze on the present washer in many ways encapsulates the ideal diferent from other commonly seen Longquan examples of this form, such
celadon glaze. Generations of potters from various kilns strived to achieve as the one found in the Jinyucun hoard in Sichuan province, illustrated in
such a fne texture and color, but it was rarely achieved outside the imperial Jinyucun Hoard of Southern Song Dynasty in Suining, vol. 2, Beijing, 2012, pl.
Ru and Guan kilns. Even the imperial Guan wares display considerable color 61. Some scholars suggest that the Longquan kilns also produced high-
variations, and large numbers of pieces which fred to less-than-ideal colors quality wares for the court when needed: see Rose Kerr, Song Dynasty
were discarded in designated pits: see Hangzhou laohudong yaozhi ciqi Ceramics, London, 2004, p. 89. The present washer is likely to be one of
jingxuan (Select Ceramics from Laohudong Kiln Site in Hangzhou), Beijing, these tribute pieces to the court.
2002, p. 16 and pp. 24-25. The production of high-quality celadon wares at
the Longquan kilns were infuenced by the establishment of the Guan kiln A pair of Longquan washers of this type, but with typical greenish-celadon
after the Song court settled in Hangzhou: see Zhu Boqian (ed.), Celadons glaze, in the MOA Museum of Art, Atami, is illustrated in Song Ceramics,
from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, p. 17. However, since the craftsmen at Tokyo, p. 108, no. 71. Another similar Longquan washer in the Idemitsu
Longquan mainly produced commercial wares made mostly for middle and Museum of Art, Tokyo, is illustrated in Kuboso Memorial Museum of Art,
upper class patrons, they did not have the luxury of selecting only perfectly- Sensei, Bansei and Celadon of Longquan Yao, Izumi, 1996, p. 16, no. 48.
fred examples for their clientele. Longquan wares from the Southern Song Compare, also, Longquan washers of this form found in the Jinyucun hoard in
dynasty typically exhibit thick, unctuous glazes of bluish-green or green Sichuan province, and illustrated in Jinyucun Hoard of Southern Song Dynasty
in Suining, vol. 2, Beijing, 2012, pls. 62-64.
南宋 龍泉青釉洗