Page 81 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art London May 2018

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A SMALL AND RARE ‘YAOZHOU’ JAR Compare two similar jars, excavated from the Yaozhou kiln
FIVE DYNASTIES/NORTHERN SONG sites near Tongchuan city, Shaanxi province, one recovered
DYNASTY from Huangbaozhen in 1959 and now in the Shaanxi
Institute of Archaeology, Xi’an, included in the exhibition The
the compressed globular body rising from a short slightly Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, Museum of Oriental Ceramics,
spreading foot to a short ß ared neck, deeply carved to the Osaka, 1997, cat. no. 24, and the other jar, unearthed from the
exterior with overlapping peony petals, the detailed veining No. 4 Middle School area together with fragments of celadon
delineated by skilfully incised lines, covered in an olive green vessels that may have been of similar design, illustrated in
glaze, pooling to a darker tone at the recessed areas Songdai Yaozhou yaozhi/The Yaozhou Kiln Site of the Song
13 cm, 5⅛ in. Period, Beijing, 1998, pl. 137, Þ g. 1-3. See also a jar carved with
an additional band of petals below its neck, from the Calmann
PROVENANCE
Collection and now in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in
Acquired in Hong Kong, November 1994. Basil Gray, Sung Porcelain & Stoneware, London, 1984, pl. 27.
Yaozhou wares of this elegant form and sophisticated design
಴ £ 50,000-70,000
seem to be among the earliest green-glazed wares made at the HK$ 555,000-775,000 US$ 70,500-98,500
‘Yaozhou’ kiln sites near Huangbaozhen, Tongchuan county,
Shaanxi province, where related pieces can be attributed to
the Five Dynasties (906-960) or early Northern Song (960-
ʞ˾ ̏҂ ᘴψ㜺ڡཊՍڀᜦ
1127) period. The present jar is a particularly well preserved
example and is most attractive for its beautiful even glaze Ը๕
and exceptionally bold and large-scale carving with the motif
ϋ ˜ᒅІ࠰ಥ
expertly placed to Þ ll out the main design band.

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 79