Page 267 - Christies Fine Chinese Works of Art March 2016 New York

ANOTHER PROPERTY (interior)

1547

A FINE EARLY MING LONGQUAN CELADON CARVED DEEP BOWL
YONGLE PERIOD (1403-1425)

The bowl has deep rounded sides carved on the exterior with
chrysanthemum, lotus and peony blossoms between borders of classic
scroll and lotus petals, and the interior is carved with a dense foral
scroll comprised of the same fowers surrounding a branch bearing
two peaches in a central medallion. The bowl is covered with an
even, grey-green glaze, with the exception of the base.

8¡ in. (21.4 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection, Kansai, Japan, since the 19th century.

The carved decoration on this bowl relates closely to the designs found on
blue and white bowls that were produced at the same time during the early
Ming period. There are numerous examples of Yongle and Xuande porcelain
bowls with dense lotus scrolls or composite foral scrolls on the exterior and
on the interior encircling a central foral medallion. One such example is the
Yongle bowl illustrated by John A. Pope, Chinese Porcelain from the Ardebil
Shrine, Washington D.C., 1956, pl. 47 (top left).

An early Ming Longquan celadon example with similar classic scroll below
the rim, instead of the more common key-fret border, is in the collection
of Seikado Bunko Art Musuem, Tokyo, and illustrated in Longquan Ware:
Chinese Celadon Beloved of the Japanese, Japan, 2012, p. 82, pl. 93.
明永樂 龍泉青釉纏枝花卉紋大碗

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