Page 49 - Chinese Works of Art Bonhams Sept 2015

8056

8056
A PALE BLUE JUNYAO ‘LOTUS BUD’ WATERPOT AND COVER
Jin dynasty

Finely potted with a bulbous body tapering towards the circular mouth, the interior and exterior
glazed with a fine grey-blue tinge Jun glaze thinning to a chestnut tone at the extremities and
with a few attractive brown and blue splashes, the glaze spreading towards the splayed foot,
the cover of solid cylindrical form beneath the rounded rim and domed finial, the glaze pooling
to a pale blue in the recesses within the rim and a greyish brown at the edges.
4 3/4in (12cm) high
$25,000 - 35,000

金 鈞窯天藍釉蓮苞式帶蓋水盂

The result of thermoluminescence test 2055NK14 dated 30 November 2001, C&C
Authentication Laboratory Limited, Hong Kong, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Together with Ding, Guan, Ge and Ru wares, Jun is on of the five famous wares of the Song
dynasty; its use continued into the Jin and Yuan dyansties and it was deeply admired by
subsequent generations of Chinese scholars and collectors. The simple rounded forms of Jun
wares complement the depth and complexity of the opalescent glaze.

It is very rare to find an example of a waterpot still with its cover; however a related Jun
bowl with purple splashes also retaining its cover and dated to the Northern Song dynasty,
11th-12th century, is illustrated by G. Eskenazi, A Dealer’s Hand: The Chinese Art World
Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, p.287, pl.283.

Other examples of Jun waterpots without covers include one previously in the collection of 8056 (additional view)
Robert Chang sold at Sotheby’s London, 12 May 2010, lot 145; another sold at Christie’s Hong
Kong, The Sound of Jade and the Shadow of a Chrysanthemum, sale 3323, 28 May 2014, lot CHINESE PAINTINGS AND WORKS OF ART | 47
3220 and another also sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, sale 2963, 28 November 2012, lot 2277.