A RUSSET-SPLASHED BLACK-GLAZED JAR AND COVER NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY |

the ovoid body rising from a short foot to a slightly tapered neck, flanked by a pair of lug handles, covered overall in a lustrous black glaze stopping irregularly around the base, accentuated with russet splashes, the domed cover with a flat rim surmounted by a button finial, similarly decorated

The private collection of a Japanese physician (b. 1925).
Collection of Umezawa Hikotaro, Tokyo.
Kochukyo, Tokyo, circa 1975.
Christie's Hong Kong, 27th November 2013, lot 3285.

This jar and cover are in overall good condition, with the exception of some minor firing imperfections, including several glaze pulls to the body and a few adhered grits to the foot of the jar and the rim of the cover. There is also a small chip to the rim of cover (approx. 0.8 x 0.4 cm). The actual colours of the russet-splashes are of slightly more brownish-red than 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."

Notable for its abstract splash design over a lustrous black glaze, jars of this type, with a sturdy ovoid body and broad straight neck enlivened by two tubular handles, were popular in the Song dynasty and made at various kilns in northern China. Black-glazed jars decorated with irregular russet splashes are discussed by Robert D. Mowry in the catalogue to the exhibition Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 1995, p. 146, where he notes that vessels of this type, left unglazed above the foot, have been recovered at the Cicun kilns, near Zibo in Shandong province, while those with a thin layer of brown glaze covering the lowest part, are more commonly associated with kilns in Henan and Hebei province. A splashed jar of similar form but of slightly smaller size in the Meiyintang collection, is published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, vol. I, pl. 463; another was included in the exhibition Tausend Jahre Chinesische Keramik aus Privatbesitz, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, 1974, cat. no. 55; and a third is published in Fujiō Kōyama, Tōji taikei: Temmoku [Outlines of ceramics: Temmoku], vol. 38, Tokyo, 1974, pl. 64. A further jar of this type but of slightly smaller size, from the Malcolm collection, was sold in these rooms, 29^th March 1977, lot 161; and from the collection of Philip Kappel was sold in our New York rooms, 4th June 1982, lot 155.

Traditionally referred to as guan, shuang’er guan (“double-eared jar”) or gualeng guan (“melon jar”), this form is known in a variety of sizes, with or without russet splashes.