Page 281 - Christies September 13 to 14th Fine Chinese Works of Art New York

PROPERTY FROM THE
PETER SCHEINMAN COLLECTION
1281
A RARE AND UNUSUAL SANCAI-GLAZED
POTTERY ‘KALAVINKA’ EWER
LIAO DYNASTY, 10TH-EARLY 11TH CENTURY
The small ewer is in the shape of a mythical being
that has the head and forebody of a woman that
continues into the body of a plump bird. A small
spout is held between the hands and a funnel for
flling the vessel rises from the back of the neck.
The body is covered in green glaze with some
amber highlights and the hair and brows are
glazed black.
6Ω in. (16.5 cm.) high

$15,000-25,000

PROVENANCE
Mu Wen Tang Collection; Sotheby’s London,
12 November 2003, lot 84.
Andrew Kahane Ltd., New York, 20 November
2003.
Peter Scheinman (1932-2017) Collection,
New York.
EXHIBITED
Hong Kong, Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary
Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art,
30 November 1990 to 10 February 1991.
Hong Kong, Song Ceramics from the Kwan
Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art,
22 July to 11 September 1994.
LITERATURE
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Min Chiu Society
Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition,
Hong Kong, 1990, no. 103.
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Song Ceramics from
the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1994, no. 182.
James Spencer in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal,
Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1993, p. 80, identifes
the kalavinka as a particular species of bird from
the Himalayan region with a beautiful singing
voice. It is thought that its voice symbolizes the
spread of Buddhist teaching. A related green
and amber-glazed ‘kalavinka’ building ornament
was excavated in 1987 at the Guantai kilns in
Cizhou, and is illustrated in Complete Collection
of Ceramics Art Unearthed in China – 3 – Hebei,
Beijing, 2008, p. 178, no. 178.
遼 三彩迦陵頻迦壺

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