Page 41 - Six treasures of IMpeerial Art Sothebys Hong Kong April 3 2019

The elegance of the present vase is captured in its long C.24-1935). A further example is in the Baur collection,
slender neck and gentle curves outlining its attractive reputed to originate from Japan, illustrated by John Ayers,
silhouette. The spontaneous dabs of russet spots, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999,
distributed neither evenly nor randomly, softly dissolve into vol. 1, pl. 42 (A104). The fourth example, designated as an
the bright sea-green glaze. These iron-decorated Longquan ‘Important Cultural Property’ in 1935, belongs to a Japanese
celadon wares, despite their subtle elegance, were produced private collection and is included in Koyama Fujio, ed., Sekai
only during the Yuan dynasty, and the present vase is tōji zenshū/Catalogue of World’s Ceramics, vol. 10: Sung and
extremely rare, with only four other known examples. Liao Dynasties, Tokyo, 1955, pl. 49.
The history of the Longquan kilns can be traced back to at All the above examples are preserved outside of China. A few
least the Song dynasty (960-1279). By the Yuan dynasty related yuhuchun vases of similar size have been excavated
(1271-1368), the kilns successfully produced wares in a from cellars in China, but they, without the iron spots, belong
range of bright jade-green tones, which set themselves apart to the more common celadon group; see Zhongguo taoci
from the muted celadon colour spectrum dominant in the quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], vol. 10: Yuan
preceding era and developed into the signature product of dynasty (I), Shanghai, 2000, pls 27-28 and 30.
the kilns. Spreading over a large part of Zhejiang province, Compare also Longquan iron-decorated wares of other
the Longquan kilns were conveniently located within reach forms. A related ring-handled vase is in the collection of the
of the trade ports of Wenzhou and Quanzhou, from where Shanghai Museum and published by Zhu Boqian, Longquan
merchandise could be shipped to foreign markets in the yao qingci/Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl.
Far East, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East. This 155. A yenyen vase from the Sir Percival David Foundation,
advantage was fully exploited in the Yuan dynasty and said to be formerly in the Sakai family collection in Japan,
large quantities of wares were made for foreign markets. is now in the British Museum and included in Regina Krahl
A huge quantity of large-scale vessels was produced to and Jessica Harrison-Hall, Chinese Ceramics: Highlights
satisfy export demand. At the same time, new decorative of the Sir Percival David Collection, London, 2009, pl. 20.
techniques were deployed to revitalise traditional forms, See also a garlic-mouth vase in the Ise Cultural Foundation,
as seen in the present example. Although the use of iron included in Chūgoku tōji meihin-ten: Ise korekushon no
spots on celadon wares was observed on Yue wares from shihō/Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition:
the late Western Jin dynasty (256-316), it was discontinued Treasure of Ise Collection, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of
and only revived by the Longquan kilns in the Yuan dynasty. Art, Kanazawa, 2012, cat. no. 41, and a related pair from the
The russet spots effect is achieved by applying iron-rich Yangdetang collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th
pigment to the thick layer of celadon glaze before firing. The November 2016, lot 3133. Compare also a dish in the Baur
tea-brown patches, scattered like a shower of petals, are collection, included in Ayers, op.cit., pl. 43 (A105). A related
praised by the Japanese tea masters as tobi seiji – a term pouring vessel yi and a tripod stand, both dated to the 14th
probably referring to the random distribution of the brown century, are preserved in the National Palace Museum,
spots (see Kobayashi Hitoshi, ‘Guobao feiqingci huasheng Taipei, and exhibited in Tsai Mei-fen, ed., Bilü – Mingdai
kao [On the National Treasure tobi seiji hanaike]’, Chen Xin, Longquan yao Qingci/Green – Longquan Celadon of the Ming
trans., Zhongguo gu taoci yanjiu. Longquan yao yanjiu/The Dynasty, Taipei, 2009, cat. nos 157-158 (accession nos Gu
Research of Longquan Kiln, Beijing, 2011, p. 403). Despite its ci 17375, 17829). Related vessels of various forms were also
simplicity and beauty, the production of this type of wares recovered from a ship that, on its way to Japan in 1323, sank
lasted only for a short period of time, and the iron spots soon off the coast of Korea. Two examples among this group are
became much smaller and their distribution more restrained a biscuit-decorated dish and another yi pouring vessel, now
and regular.
in the National Museum of Korea and included in The Sunken
Only four other examples of comparable form, size and Treasures off the Sinan Coast, Tokyo, 1983, cat. nos 22-23.
decoration from the Yuan dynasty are known. The most This type of tobi seiji vessel, as discussed above, is extremely
famous among them is the National Treasure tobi seiji rare, and most of the extant examples are either kept in
hanaike. Formerly in the collection of the Konoike family, it Japan or have arrived overseas by way of Japan. Kobayashi
is now in the collection of the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, suggested that this group of Longquan wares was in fact
Osaka (accession no. 00556), and included in the catalogue made for the Japanese market. His hypothesis can explain
to the exhibited Yūkyū no kōsai. Tōyō tōji no bi. Osaka the popularity of iron-decorated Longquan celadon in
shiritsu tōyō tōji bijutsu kan korekushon/The Museum of Japan and the small quantity of relevant excavated and
Oriental Ceramics, Osaka Collection: The Eternal Beauty and heirloom pieces in China (op.cit., p. 413). In fact, during the
Luster of Oriental Ceramics, Tokyo, 2014, cat. no. 21 and Yuan dynasty, Qingbai wares with brown spots were also
cover (fig. 1). Another related vase from the Eumorfopoulos produced for export, but they are generally less refined than
collection, is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum their Longquan counterparts; see Ye Peilan, Yuandai ciqi
and published in Stacey Pierson, Chinese Ceramics: A Design [Porcelain of the Yuan dynasty], Beijing, 1998, pp. 247-8, pls
History, London, 2009, pp. 88-89, fig. 128 (accession no.
428-437.

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