Page 84 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art London May 2018

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A ‘YAOZHOU’ TRIPOD CENSER A censer of this type, but of slightly larger size, from the
SONG DYNASTY Xiwenguo Zhao Collection, included in The Grandeur of Chinese
Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong
the compressed spherical body rising to a waisted neck and
below the broad square-section everted rim, all supported on Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 2010, cat. no. 100, was sold
in our Hong Kong rooms, 5 April 2017, lot 3231; and another,
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three lion-paw feet issuing from lion masks, covered overall
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but with a longer neck, was sold at Christie’s New York, 5
with a glossy olive-green crackled glaze, pooling to a darker
June 1986, lot 172. Yaozhou tripod censers of this shape are
tone at the recessed areas at the shoulder and rim
18 cm, 7⅛ in. more commonly seen decorated with various designs, such as
one moulded with confronting bird marks divided by vertical
notched ß anges on the body, in the Museum of Oriental
PROVENANCE
Ceramics, Osaka, included in the Museum’s exhibition The
Acquired in Hong Kong, August 1990.
Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, 1998, cat. no. 105; and another
Covered with a subtle olive-green glaze and devoid of carved with a band of double key-frets below the rim and
decoration save for the mask-head legs, this is a rare example scrolling lotuses on the body, illustrated in Julian Thompson,
of Yaozhou ware from the Song dynasty. Located in the ‘Chinese Celadons’, Arts of Asia, November-December, 1993,
Shaanxi province, the Yaozhou kilns were inspired by Yue p. 66, sold in these rooms, 15 December 1981, lot 135 and
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celadon-glazed ware from the northern Zhejiang province from again in our New York rooms, 7 November 2008, lot 273.
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the Five Dynasties period (907-960) and gained prominence
in the Song dynasty (960-1279) for its distinctive green-glazed ಴ £ 60,000-80,000
stoneware that appealed to the taste of the literati. Although HK$ 665,000-885,000 US$ 84,500-113,000
the majority of their output was devoted to the manufacture
of vibrantly carved or moulded dishes and bowls, they also
created a small number of carefully and individually crafted ҂ ᘴψ㜺ڡཊ๿ᖕԑᘟ
ceramics, such as the present piece.
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82 SOTHEBY’S