A RARE CARVED LONGQUAN CELADON VASE AND COVER, NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

China, 960-1127. Well potted with an ovoid body supported on a sturdy foot and rising to a slightly flared neck surmounted by a broad and tall galleried rim. The domed cover is surmounted by a flanged ring below a stepped finial. The body richly carved and combed with a band of overlapping upright petals below a register of foliate scroll, the cover with lines evocative of chrysanthemum petals. Covered overall with a finely crackled translucent glaze of slightly grayish olive-green color, save for the partially unglazed base and interior of the cover.

Provenance: The property of a private American collector. Christie’s New York, 20 September 2013, lot 1277, sold for USD 6,250 or approx. EUR 7,300 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France, acquired from the above.
Condition: Very good condition with expected wear and manufacturing irregularities including kiln grit to the base, few thin firing cracks, and glaze recesses. Minor glaze lines, the interior of the cover with small nicks, the base with few tiny losses.

Weight: 1 kg
Dimensions: Height 26 cm

Covered vases with galleried rims are typical for Northern Song Longquan ware. The form gradually changed from a tall tapering body with long neck in the early Northern Song dynasty to an ovoid body with shorter neck in the late Northern Song dynasty. Meanwhile, the glaze color developed into a more olive tone and the carved decoration was often more robust.

One usage of Longquan covered vases was revealed by the inscription on an example from the Percival David Foundation and now in the British Museum, registration number PDF.258, illustrated for example by G. St. G. M. Gompertz, Chinese Celadon Wares, London, 1958, fig. 22. The inscription reads, ‘with the prayer that this vessel will hold fragrant wine for hundreds and thousands of years; That I may have a thousand sons and ten thousand grandsons; That they may be wealthy and live long lives; That they may enjoy good fortune and happiness; On the fifteenth day of the ninth month of leap year in the third year of the Yuanfeng period (1080). I have fired this vessel, signed by Liang Yingcheng’. Hence, covered jars of the current type could be used as funerary jars containing offerings such as wine and grains. This practice was a local custom in Southern Zhejiang and Northern Fujian province.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 2804
Price: HKD 1,960,000 or approx. EUR 258,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare carved longquan celadon vase and cover, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century
Expert remark: Compare the related form, carved decoration, olive-green glaze, and size (26.6 cm). Note the globular body and loops.