Page 47 - Six treasures of IMpeerial Art Sothebys Hong Kong April 3 2019

SYNTHESIS OF
NATURE AND ART:

A CHARMING
HEXAGONAL GUAN

JARDINIÈRE

DR HAJNI ELIAS

This hexagonal jardinière represents the much desired and
rare type of ware created for the Southern Song imperial
court. It is exquisitely potted and covered in a thick light-
grey glaze with the dark, blackish-brown body visible at the
foot. The straight but slightly sloping sides of the vessel add
depth and substance to the object, accentuating its unusual
hexagonal shape. The glaze itself is particularly smooth
to the touch and is suffused with an attractive network of
crackles. It is a fine example of the fabled Southern Song
official ware and showcases the potter’s ingenuity, high level
of technical ability and aesthetic sophistication.
The vessel displays the characteristics of guan wares
produced at Xiuneisi, located at the Laohudong kiln site, in
the outskirts of Hangzhou city in Zhejiang province. Xiuneisi,
set within the grounds of the Southern Song imperial
city, was the Palace Maintenance Office for the official
manufactory of imperial guan wares. It was established in the
new capital of Hangzhou after the collapse of the Northern
Song dynasty when the imperial family and the court moved
from Kaifeng to South China in 1127. For more information
on the Xiuneisi and the imperial manufactory of guan wares
see the essay for lot 105 in this catalogue.
The magnificence and scarcity of guan wares were
elaborated on by the eminent collector and connoisseur of
Chinese ceramics and whose un-paralleled collection is now
housed in the British Museum in London, Sir Percival David
(1892-1964). In his introduction to the Oriental Ceramics
Society exhibition of Ru and guan wares held in London in
1952, Sir David describes the present charming jardinière
and its companions in the exhibition as follows:
‘“It is impossible to foretell”, says an enthusiastic late Ming
writer in his discourse on Ju, Kuan, and Ko wares, “to what
point the loss of these ancient wares will continue. For that
reason, I never see a specimen but my heart dilates and my
eye flashes while my soul seems suddenly to gain wings, and
I need no earthly food, reaching a state of exaltation such as
one could scarcely expect a mere hobby to produce”. In the
centuries that have followed the writing of those prophetic
words, the destruction and disappearance of these precious
wares have continued with gathering momentum. Yet
despite their much diminished numbers, it is, I suppose, not
to be expected, so far have we hapless moderns fallen from
grace, that the visitor to the present exhibition, however
keenly interested he may be, will have his feelings stirred in
this same way, notwithstanding the satisfying display that
has here been spread for his pleasure, his appetite and his
edification.’ 1

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