Page 62 - Bonham's Asian Art London November 2015

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AN OLIVE-GLAZED ‘LEATHER-POUCH’ EWER A CREAM-GLAZED EWER
Liao Dynasty Liao Dynasty
The tall slender ewer potted from beige clay painted with a white slip Potted from grey-beige clay raised on a straight foot with a recessed
on the body and covered from the narrow cylindrical neck and loop base, the rounded body rising to a cylindrical neck beside a loop
handle down towards the foot with a greenish-brown olive glaze with handle modelled with a scalloped crest, the ewer covered with a white
characteristic fine streaking, box. 30.5cm (12in) high (2). slip under a rich creamy glaze with very fine dark speckles reaching
down to the towards the foot, box. 26.5cm (10½in) high (2).
£1,000 - 1,500
CNY9,700 - 15,000 £1,000 - 1,500
HK$12,000 - 18,000 CNY9,700 - 15,000
HK$12,000 - 18,000
Provenance
Purchased on 24 July 1990 from T.Y. King & Sons Ltd. (receipt) Provenance
Purchased in 1990 from T.Y. King & Sons Ltd., Hong Kong (receipt)
Originating in Central Asia and arriving in China from the West,
the distinctive form of this ewer is taken directly from the leather
pouches used in daily life by nomads of northern China during
the Liao Dynasty. Whilst the present lot is elegant in its restrained
simplicity, other examples from the Liao period can feature applied
embellishments imitating realistic seams or punched decoration in the
leather prototypes. See examples illustrated by Liu Liangyu, A Survey
of Chinese Ceramics 3. Liao, Hsi-hsia, Chin and Yuan Wares, Taipei,
1992, p.28-37.

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