AN INCISED CELADON-GLAZED MEIPING GORYEO DYNASTY |

the elegantly waisted body rising from a splayed foot, sweeping up to the broad rounded shoulders and the short everted mouth, incised overall with lotus scrolls, the flowers borne on leafy undulating stems, all beneath a celadon glaze suffused with a faint crackle, stopping at the foot to reveal the partly glazed countersunk base, two Japanese wood boxes (5) ,

There is a vertical zigzag body crack with some consolidation, from the shoulder extending down to the foot, apprx. 19 cm in height. Discoloration to one section of the shoulder and the glaze around the base is degraded. The glaze with craquelure and overall with scattered minor firing imperfections.
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 maebyong (meiping in Chinese) jar represents ceramics from the fully mature Goryeo period with its characteristically pronounced ‘S’-curved profile created through its broad shoulders, attenuated body, constricted waist and flaring foot. Produced in Korea during the Goryeo period, celadon wares were among the most admired of Korean ceramics and demonstrate perfection in form, decoration and technology. Goryeo potters often embellished the works with fluid incising and carving, such as in this meiping. Included in the list of the most prized items described as ‘first under heaven’ by the 12th/13th century Chinese author Taiping Laoren, together with the books of the Academy, wines of the Palace, inkstones of Duanxi, the peonies of Luoyang, the tea of Fujian, the brocades of Sichuan, and the porcelains of Dingzhou, the celadons of the Goryeo dynasty have been held in high regard by the Korean Imperial court and beyond since their creation. As in China, the quality of celadons vary widely and they would have figured prominently in many households besides those of the royal family and aristocratic court for whom the finest were reserved. Poets and scholars romanticized its distinctive color, referring to it as the ‘secret color’ (bi se) and comparing it to the hue of autumn skies and distant mountain peaks in its glimmering tones of bluish-green with a touch of gray.

Compare an incised meiping of similar profile formerly in the Ataka Collection, included in the exhibition Newly Discovered Goryeo Celadon and the Achievements of Underwater Archaeology in Korea, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 2015, cat. no. 151.