China. Of archaic jade form, the straight-sided square section body rising from a short foot to a narrow tapering circular neck, finely molded in shallow relief with two vertical bars down each side, and alternating shorter and longer horizontal bars down the four corners. Covered overall in a thick pale-gray glaze suffused with a network of golden and black crackles, masterfully controlled so that they emphasize the archaic form of the vessel.

Provenance: From the collection of Felix Tikotin, and thence by descent within the family. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. Born in Glogau, Germany, to a Jewish family, his ancestors had returned with Napoleon from Russia from a town named Tykocin. He grew up in Dresden and after World War I, he traveled to Japan and immediately fell in love with the culture. In April 1927, he opened his own first gallery in Berlin. The entire family survived the holocaust, and in the 1950s Tikotin slowly resumed his activities as a dealer in Japanese art. He became, once again, very successful and prominent, holding exhibitions all over Europe and the United States. When he first visited Israel in 1956, he decided that the major part of his collection belonged in that country. In 1960, the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was opened in Haifa.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and firing irregularities, intentional crackling, one tiny nick to the mouth. The foot slightly smoothened, probably inherent to manufacture.

Weight: 255.8 g
Dimensions: Height 11.8 cm

Expert’s note: One feature that sets the present Guan-type cong-form vase apart from later examples is the masterly control of the two-tone crackle, with the dark lines accentuating the form of the vase and the smaller, golden network highlighting the molded decoration. This level of precision on such an inspired yet simple design is not found on any Chinese porcelain later than the 18^th century.

Literature comparison:
Compare the guan-type vase of this shape and decoration illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain (Beijing): The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, page 221, pl. 199.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 2014, lot 161
Price: USD 15,000 or approx. EUR 18,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A ‘Guan’-type cong vase, Qing dynasty, 18^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and thick glaze with similar two-tone crackle. Note the near-identical size (13.6 cm).



十八世紀仿官釉琮形瓶
中國。玉琮形瓶，圓口、方腹、圈足，四面凸起橫直條紋。通體覆蓋著一層厚厚的淺灰色釉，上面佈滿了金絲鐵線紋，更加突出了古玉琮的風格。

來源：Felix Tikotin收藏，在同一家族保存至今。Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) 是一位建築師、藝術收藏家，也是中東第一家日本藝術博物館的創始人。他出生在德國格洛高的一個猶太家庭，他的祖先隨拿破崙從俄羅斯一個名叫提科欽的小鎮返回。他在德勒斯登長大，第一次世界大戰後前往日本旅行，並立即愛上了它的文化。1927 年 4 月，他在柏林開設了自己的第一家藝廊。二戰時，整個家庭在大屠殺中倖存下來。1950 年代，Tikotin 慢慢恢復了他作為日本藝術品經銷商的活動。 他非常成功，在歐洲和美國各地舉辦展覽。當他在 1956 年第一次訪問以色列時，他決定把他的大部分收藏都捐贈給以色列。1960 年，Tikotin 日本藝術博物館在海法開放。
品相：狀況極好，有輕微磨損和燒製不規則、刻意開片，口上有一個小缺口。腳部稍微光滑，可能是製造所固有的。

重量：255.8 克
尺寸：高 11.8 厘米

專家注釋：這件仿官釉琮形瓶有別於後世之作的一大特徵是對雙色裂紋的巧妙控制，深色線條突出瓶形，較小的金色網紋突出模壓紋飾。 在十八世紀以後的任何中國瓷器上，都找不到這種精確度。

文獻比較：
比較仿官釉琮形瓶和裝飾，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．顏色釉》，香港，1999年，頁221，圖199。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2014年9月16日，lot 161
價格：USD 15,000（相當於今日EUR 18,000）
描述：清十八世紀仿官釉八卦琮式瓶
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形和厚釉，以及兩種不同開片。請注意幾乎相同尺寸(13.6 厘米)。