A 'LONGQUAN' CELADON VASE SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the pear-shaped body rising from a short tapered foot to a tall cylindrical neck and everted rim, the glaze of an even attractive bluish-green color thinning at the lip, the unglazed footrim fired to a light orange

Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Marvin Gordon, San Francisco.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York.

The Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 2009, cat. no. 22. 

Robert Mowry, 'Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon', Orientations, March 2004, p. 118,  fig. 5. 

In overall good condition. The foot is slightly irregular. The footrim with an original firing crack and an associated underglazed body line extending up the side approximately 3.9 cm, barely visible beneath the glaze. There are also two minor kiln grits to the footrim, the largest measuring 0.9 cm. The inner rim with a small white body flaw under the glaze. The surface with minor wear, consistent with age.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This charming vase exemplifies the refinement of the classic Southern Song aesthetic, embodying ideals of simplicity and harmony in its unassuming yet elegant shape which perfectly complements the attractive translucent glaze. Suzanne G. Valenstein in A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, p. 99, suggests that the rapid refinement of craftsmanship at the Longquan kilns during the Southern Song dynasty is to be attributed to the court extending its patronage to kilns outside the capital city, Hangzhou, probably including kilns in Longquan.

A vase of this type is illustrated in Longquan Celadon of China, Hangzhou, 1998, pl. 92; another from the collections of Mrs Alfred Clark and Edward T. Chow, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, pl. 555, was sold in our London rooms, 16th December 1980, lot 299, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th November 1985, lot 5; and a third vase from the Yang De Tang collection, was sold in these rooms, 17th March 2015, lot 69. Further examples include one from the Carl Kempe collection, now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, Tokyo, 1982, vol. 7, pl. 146; one from the collection of Pierre de Menasce, included in the exhibition Mostra d’Arte Cinese, Palazza Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 435, and sold in our London rooms, 7th June 2000, lot 114; and another from the collections of J.E. Woodthorpe and Mildred R. and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, sold in our London rooms, 6th April 1954, lot 4, and again in these rooms, 8th November 1980, lot 146. 

Vases of this form are also known covered overall in a crackled guan-type glaze, such as a vase, also from the collections of Mrs Alfred Clark and Edward T. Chow and illustrated in Regina Krahl, op. cit., pl. 554, sold in our London rooms, 25th March 1975, lot 63; and another, recovered at the Xikou kilns and now in the Longquan Provincial Museum, Zhejiang province, illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics. Song Dynasty, Shanghai, 1999, vol. 8, pl. 73.