A FINE LONGQUAN CELADON 'FLOWER' VASE, YUHUCHUNPING MING DYNASTY, LATE 14TH / EARLY 15TH CENTURY

superbly potted, of pear-shaped form, the swelling body tapering to a slender waisted neck and a flared rim, supported on a short foot, deftly carved around the body with a dense foliate lotus scroll between a band of petal lappets enclosing trefoils around the base and pendent ruyi collaring the shoulder, the neck encircled with upright plantain leaves above key-fret and a border of 'classic' scroll repeated around the foot, richly applied overall with an unctuous yellowish-green glaze pooling to a darker tone in the recesses, the neatly cut footring left unglazed and fired deep orange

There are a few scattered pinholes and occasional tiny specks in the glaze with a few light glaze crackles around the belly and a few light scratches on the surface, but otherwise the vase is in very good condition. The actual colour of the vase is quite close the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present vase is notable for its fine potting, attractive yuhuchun shape and carved decoration covered in deep celadon glaze associated with the Longquan kilns in Zhejiang province. Celadon vessels of this type were often made after contemporary wares, manufactured in the official kilns at Jingdezhen. They frequently have close counterparts in Jingdezhen porcelain painted in underglaze-blue and underglaze-red. Julian Thompson in ‘Chinese Celadons’, Arts of Asia, November-December 1993, p. 64, notes that by the 15^th century it appears that the Jingdezhen wares had become so popular that the ‘Longquan’ potters had to adapt the complicated painted designs to their own technique of carving. In size, form and decoration the present vase is closely related to a ‘Longquan’ yuhuchun ping in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 161. It is also comparable to a vase preserved in the former collection of the Ottoman sultans, studded with jewels and fitted with silver-gilt mounts and made into an ewer, included in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Topkapi Saray Museum. Istanbul, vol. 1, London, 1986, pl. 223; and to another bottle vase with lotus design, from the Alexander and Barlow collections, published in Michael Sullivan, Chinese Ceramics. Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 95b, now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. See also a closely related vase sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1th October 1991, lot 732, and offered again in our New York rooms, 18^th March 2008, lot 103. Compare another vase published in Thompson, op.cit., fig. 14, where it is noted that the piece follows a Hongwu period (r. 1368-1398) design very closely, both in shape and in the layout of the carved decoration, each of the motif bands corresponding precisely to the prototype. (See, ibid., p. 64) The vase mentioned by Thompson was sold in these rooms, 29^th November 1976, lot 452, and again, 5^th November 1996, lot 635.

For blue and white and copper-red decorated Hongwu period inspirations to the present vase,  see one included in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 13, Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 214; and another underglaze-red decorated vase, in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 2:5. While the main body of the British Museum vase is painted with the design of auspicious plants including a gnarled pine tree, lingzhi fungus, bamboo, prunus and plantain, border motifs around the neck and foot are similar to that seen on the present vase. See also a blue and white vase of the same period, decorated with the design of interlocking peony sprays, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze-Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 14; and two further examples, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, one painted with a lotus scroll and the other with peony scroll, included in Liu Liang-yu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, Taipei, 1991, pp. 22-23. Another related piece, decorated with peony blossoms, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1^st February 2009, lot 1868.