Page 192 - Important Chinese Art Sothebys March 2019

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propertY From an Important amerICan this yuhuchunping, with its full blooms loosely ming dynasty from Longquan in Chuzhou],
prIVate CoLLeCtIon carved among lushly rendered foliage, its jade- hangzhou, 2005, p.102 and p. 110, as well as
A FINELY CARVED ‘LONGQUAN’ like glaze and its well-proportioned, elegant several fragments of similar pieces with various
CELADON-GLAZED ‘PEONY’ BOTTLE shape, exemplifies the Longquan potter’s skill incised designs, pp. 112-116.
VASE, YUHUCHUNPING and creativity. the ottoman court in Istanbul expressed
MING DYNASTY, HONGWU PERIOD Longquan and Jingdezhen sourced from the their appreciation for a vase of this type,
same type of ‘pattern books’, assembled during with scrolling lotus, by embellishing it with
the elegantly proportioned pear-shaped body the hongwu emperor’s reign (1364-1398) when jewels and silver-gilt mounts, see regina
rising from a slightly splayed foot, sweeping manufacturing standards were regularized Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray
up to a tall waisted neck and an everted lipped at both Imperial kilns. Yet, some complicated Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. I, no.
rim, the body boldly carved with four large designs may have been primarily designed for 223. a similar vase also with a lotus design
peony sprays borne on an undulating stem also Jingdezhen, as they were more suitable for the from the alexander and Barlow Collections was
issuing furled leaves, above a broad lotus lappet painting brush than for the carver’s tool. the included in the exhibition The Barlow Collection
band enclosing ruyi heads, with a keyfret border Longquan carver copied the designs to the of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades,
at the foot, the shoulder encircled by a pendent best of his ability, showing notable creativity. University of sussex, Brighton, 1997, cat. no. 43.
ruyi-head border, with classic scroll, keyfret the present design, known from blue and white Blue and white and underglaze-red
and upright lappet bands at the neck, applied and underglaze-red yuhuchun vases of this counterparts of these yuhuchunping are in
overall with an even olive-green glaze save for period, is splendidly executed, in an even more the palace museum, Beijing, illustrated in
the foot ring naturalistic and free rendering than seen on Qinghua Youlihong / Blue and White Porcelain
height 13 in., 32.9 cm its Jingdezhen counterparts. here, the artist with Underglaze Red (I), Gugong Bowuyuan
cleverly used incised technique to its utmost
PROVENANCE advantage by fashioning the deep pattern in Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Quanji / The Complete
sotheby’s hong Kong, 29th november 1976, such a way as to reveal a shading of darker Collections of Treasures of the Palace Museum,
hong Kong, 2000, pl. 14, and pls. 196 and 197
lot 452. green where the glaze pools, giving the piece a with peonies, and pl. 198 with lotus. another
Collection of mr. and mrs. Jack Chia. most attractive appeal. blue and white example in the philadelphia
sotheby’s hong Kong, 5th november 1996, this type of pear-shaped vase was in demand museum of art is illustrated in margaret
lot 635.
both for the domestic and foreign markets, and medley, Yuan Porcelain and Stoneware, London,
continued to be popular into the 15th century, pl. 51b.
EXHIBITED
with a variety of carved designs. a similar
Julian thompson, ‘Chinese Celadons’, Arts of example, fired for the court, in the national similar vases in blue and white and underglaze-
Asia, november-December 1993, p. 70, fig. 14. palace museum, taipei, is illustrated in tsai red are also known with a pattern of large
mei-fen, ed., Bilü – Mingdai Longquan yao hatched ruyi panels, rather than the band of
$ 60,000-80,000 smaller trefoils around the neck. one such
Qingci/Green – Longquan Celadon of the Ming example in underglaze-red, from the t.t. tsui
Dynasty, taipei, 2009, no. 52, where the vase is Collection was sold in our London rooms, 7th
compared to an excavated piece from the tomb June, 1994, lot 331.
of Zhang Yun, dated to the 28th year of the
hongwu reign (1395) and to a vase, of simpler
design, unearthed from the tomb of Chen Wen 明洪武 龍泉窰青釉刻纏枝牡丹紋
of pingjiang in anhui, dated to the 12th year of 玉壺春瓶
the Yongle reign (1414), together with similar
examples, no. 51 and nos 53-58. 來源
香港蘇富比1976年11月29日，編號452
excavations in Longquan, Zhejiang province
have yielded similar vases. Compare two Jack Chia 伉儷收藏
yuhuchunping reconstructed from shards 香港蘇富比1996年11月5日，編號635
illustrated in Ye Yingting and hua Yunong, 展覽
Faxian: Da Ming Chuzhou Longquan guanyao 朱湯生，〈Chinese Celadons〉，《Arts of
[Discovery: Imperial ware of the great
Asia》，1993年11至12月，頁70，圖14

190 SOTHEBY’S Important ChInese art