An extremely rare Junyao bottle vase, Northern Song dynasty | 北宋 鈞窰天藍釉長頸膽瓶

Collection of Sir Herbert Ingram (1875-1958), coll. no. R.64.

Sotheby's London, 16th May 2007, lot 216.

Christie's Hong Kong, 28th May 2014, lot 3222.

Herbert Ingram 爵士（1875-1958年）收藏，編號R.64

倫敦蘇富比2007年5月16日，編號216

香港佳士得2014年5月28日，編號3222

Basil Gray, Sung Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1984, pl. 66.

Basil Gray，《Sung Porcelain and Stoneware》，倫敦，1984年，圖版66

Due to the inherent difficulties of potting and applying the thick opaque glaze, vases of this elegant slender bottle form are among the rarest vessels produced by the Henan Jun kilns during the Song dynasty. The tall, tapered neck contracts elegantly before joining the voluminous body and perfectly balances the short foot where the glaze gently pools. The simplicity of the form accentuates the understated beauty of the soft sky-blue glaze, epitomising the aesthetics of the Song dynasty.

Only a few related examples can be found in important museum collections, all varying slightly in detail. A slightly shorter Northern Song dynasty vase in Beijing, is included in Ceramics Gallery of the Palace Museum, vol. II: Song, Liao, Western Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Beijing, 2021, no. 057 and cover; and another example, attributed to the 11th century, is illustrated and discussed together with the present example in Basil Gray, op.cit., pl. 65, and later sold in our London rooms, 15th May 2007, lot 216; and another vase, attributed to the Song dynasty, in the Qiguchen Museum, is published in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], vol. 7, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 190. See also one example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Rose Kerr, Song Ceramics, London, 2004, pp. 32-33, pl. 21, where the author notes that the vase is similar in form to Cizhou vases dating from the Jin dynasty.

Jun vases of similar size and shape but with red or purple splashes are probably of a slightly later date. See a Jin to Yuan dynasty example from the Percival David Foundation and now in the collection of the British Museum, London, accession no. PDF.80; a larger but slightly slanted example with brownish-red flecks, attributed to the 12th century, preserved in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., accession no. F1949.12, published in Rose Kerr, Dazzling Official Jun Wares: From Museums and Collections Around the World, Hong Kong, 2021, p. 78, fig. 47; and a further example from the Manno Art Museum, illustrated in Selected Masterpieces of the Manno Collection, Japan, 1988, pl. 98.

Compare a Dingyao bottle of similar size and shape, possibly the inspiration for Junyao wares of this type, sold in our London rooms, 6th June 1971, lot 64, and again at Christie's Tokyo, 16th/17th February 1980, lot 741. 

此類長頸瓶造型古雅內斂，為宋之經典，雖看似簡潔，然鈞窰胎體細密，釉質肥厚，對拉胚成形及施釉要求極高，每燒成之器，實乃鈞窰罕有之最。此瓶之頸，高而徐收，優雅過渡至瓶身，下有矮足，釉面柔和，完美平衡。此器型之簡潔，凸顯天藍釉樸素之美，集宋代美學之大成。

知名博物館中，與此瓶相似者寥寥，細節均有差異。可比較一瓶稍矮，現藏北京，錄於《故宮陶瓷舘．卷二：宋遼西夏金元》，北京，2021年，編號057及封面；另有一例，斷代至11世紀，曾經 Basil Gray 共此拍品相提並論，引見前文，頁65，後售於倫敦蘇富比，2007年5月15日，編號216；尚有一瓶，斷代至宋，現藏齊故城博物館，見於《中國陶瓷全集．宋（上）》，上海，2000年，圖版190。另一例藏倫敦維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，錄於柯玫瑰，《宋瓷》，倫敦，2004年，頁32-33，圖版21，此書作者認爲此例之器形，與金代磁州窰瓶相仿。

另有鈞窰瓶與此瓶相仿，尺寸器形相近，帶紅紫色斑，年代或稍晚。見一例，金至元時期，為大維德基金會舊藏，現存倫敦大英博物館，編號PDF.80；一例稍大，略傾，帶棕紅小斑，斷代至12世紀，藏於華盛頓特區弗利爾美術館，編號F1949.12，見於柯玫瑰，《鈞窰：耀眼的官窰屬性》，香港，2021年，頁78，圖47；尚有一例，藏於萬野藝術館，錄於《萬野コレクション撰集》，日本，1988年，圖版98。

可比較一定窰瓶，尺寸器形相近，或為此類鈞瓷之範，曾售於倫敦蘇富比，1971年6月6日，編號64，再售於東京佳士得，1980年2月16/17日，編號741。