A YELLOWISH-GREEN GLAZED STONEWARE ‘BIRD’ LIME POT, ANGKOR PERIOD
Lot 141 - SING0925

Khmer Empire, presumably 12th-13th century. The gourd-shaped body supported on a short foot and rising to a waisted neck with a rounded mouth and a thick-lipped rim, subtly indented at the shoulders to distinguish the head from the torso. The face of the animal schematically rendered with bulging eyes and a small, curved beak, while a diminutive tail is delicately suggested at the rear. The vessel entirely covered with a clear greenish glaze, attractively pooling and falling well short of the foot to expose the buff-colored ware beneath. The base plugged with a brown ceramic ring.

Provenance: Private collection of A. Hansen, Denmark. Mr. Hansen (b. 1955) is a retired Danish Supreme Court lawyer and lifelong collector with a deep passion for history and culture. His collecting journey began at the age of eight with stamps, encouraged by his father, and quickly developed into a serious pursuit. By 1982, his specialized collection of Greenland postal history earned international recognition. Following this success, Mr. Hansen turned his focus to fine art and antiquities, beginning with Danish art and later expanding into East and Southeast Asian artifacts after an inspiring Japanese exhibition in 1985. Over the following decades, his collection grew to include mostly ceramic artworks from Annam, Khmer, Burmese, and Thai origins, acquired through reputable collectors and auction houses.
Condition: Good condition with expected wear and typical manufacturing irregularities, including pitting, dark spots, and firing cracks. Extensive erosion to glaze. Circular fill to the cut-off-point on the base.

Weight: 584.9 g
Dimensions: Height 17.6 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a related clear glazed stoneware bottle in the form of a doble gourd, Khmer Empire (present-day Cambodia or Northeast Thailand), Angkor period, dated 12th-13th century, 18.0 cm high, in the Art Gallery of South Australia, accession number 931C2, and illustrated in: Dick Richards (ed.), South-East Asian Ceramics: Thai, Vietnamese, and Khmer from the Collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia, 1995, p.183, no. 148 (centre). Compare a related dark-brown glazed stoneware lime-paste jar in the form of a bird with a lid, Khmer Empire (present-day Cambodia or Northeast Thailand), Angkor period, dated 1177-1430, 5.9 cm high, in the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, accession number S1996.171a-b.