Alain.R.Truong

A black-glazed and russet jar, Song dynasty

A black-glazed and russet jar, Song dynasty. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of compressed baluster shape, the wide mouth surmounted by a short tapering neck, applied overall with a rich and glossy black glaze accented with two russet-colored birds in flight, the glaze stopping at the foot to reveal the buff body. Height 5 7/8  in., 15 cm

Literature: Dan-jiong Tan, Zhongguo taoci shi [History of Chinese Ceramics], Volume Two, Taipei, 1985, p. 492.

Notes: See two related black-glazed jars, one of almost identical size, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 3, 2006, no. 1517; and another in the Victoria and Albert Museum, of larger size, illustrated in Nigel Wood, Chinese Glazes, London, 1999, p. 145, where the author discusses the possibility that the designs were painted beneath the glaze with an iron-rich slip, unlike the russet glazes that were 'splashed', which was the preferred technique with northern blackware.

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

Hailee Steinfeld wore Andrew Gn PreFall 2015 ikat-inspired embroidered gown at the Vanity Fair Oscar party

Hailee Steinfeld wore Andrew Gn PreFall 2015 ikat-inspired embroidered gown at the Vanity Fair Oscar party - PF 2015 look #14

A black-glazed sgraffito jar, Jin - Xixia dynasty

A black-glazed sgraffito jar, Jin - Xixia dynasty. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

he ovoid body rising from a recessed base to a short broad neck with a flat lipped rim, carved through the lustrous dark brown glaze to the buff body with a broad and narrow band of dense scrolling foliage. Height 10 3/4  in., 27.2 cm

Notes: See a related sgraffito vase from the Meiyintang Collection also attributed to the Jin / Xixia dynasty, but with a small mouth in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 1, 1994, nos. 454 and 455. 

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A black-glazed sgraffito vase (yuhuchunping), Jin - Yuan dynasty

A black-glazed sgraffito vase (yuhuchunping), Jin - Yuan dynasty. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

the pear-shaped body surmounted by a slender waisted neck flaring to a trumpet mouth, covered overall with a rich dark brown glaze boldly carved through to the buff body with a wide band of peony blossoms between a slanting key-fret band encircling the shoulders and incised rings below, the glaze thinned and irregularly applied above the foot, the base unglazed - Height 11 1/2  in., 29.2 cm

Exhibition: Zhongguo taoci jingpin zhan [The Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics of Eight Dynasties], National Museum of History, Taipei, 1987, p. 39.

Notes: Related vases with bands of leaf scrolls and keyfret are illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 10, Tokyo, 1980, no. 193; and another in the Meiyintang Collection illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 3, 2006,  no. 1526.

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A 'Cizhou' painted 'Bird and Flower' meiping, Jin - Yuan dynasty

A 'Cizhou' painted  'Bird and Flower' meiping, Jin - Yuan dynasty. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of slender ovoid form, the gently rounded shoulder rising to a small neck with a splayed angular mouth, freely painted around the body in iron-brown with birds and butterflies among foliage, between registers of further foliage all on a white-slip ground, covered overall in a transparent glaze, save for the low ring foot revealing the buff-colored body. Height 15 1/8  in., 38.3 cm

Literature: Chugoku meito ten: Chugoku toji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of Chinese Pottery: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics], Tokyo, 1992, no. 34.

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A 'Cizhou' painted box and cover, Northern Song - Jin dynasty

A 'Cizhou' painted box and cover, Northern Song - Jin dynasty. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

with straight sides and a slightly domed cover, painted in brown over a white slip with a stylized floral spray, all under a clear glaze, the shallow box similarly covered in a white slip and clear glaze with an unglazed footrim (2). Diameter 4 5/8  in., 11.7 cm

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A 'Cizhou' inscribed meiping , Song dynasty

A 'Cizhou' inscribed meiping , Song dynasty. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of slender ovoid form, the gently rounded shoulder rising to a small neck with everted rim, finely painted on the central panel with a scene of the mute man being enlightened by Lu Dongbin, and a poetic inscription on the other side titled Du ya xiansheng shi, all between two bands of scrolls above and petal lappets below, the footring and base unglazed to reveal the buff-colored body. Height 12 7/8  in., 32.7 cm

Notes: The inscription on the vase may be translated as:

The wind blows through my sleeves as I enter Hedong
I spend the night in the ancient Qituo Temple 
The people of the world are bound by their constraints 
I carry my divine sabre across the southern peak

Lord Lu. 'The Deliverance of the Speechless Man' Poem.

Lu Dongbin was a Tang dynasty poet and scholar who later became one of the Baxian (Eight Immortals). He is often depicted with his sword used to dispel evil spirits. According to the Quanzhen school of Daoism, becoming enlightened is like a mute finding his voice. People bound by their constraints cannot become enlightened. The scene and poem depicted on the present vase illustrate this analogy. 

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A 'Cizhou' 'Sgraffito' pillow, Song dynasty

A 'Cizhou' 'Sgraffito' pillow, Song dynasty. Estimate 25,000 — 30,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

 of bean shape, the slightly concave top covered with black and white slip, carved through the black slip to the white layer beneath with two leafy stems divided by a geometric band within a black slip border, all under a transparent glaze save for the flat base exposing the buff body. Length 9 1/2  in., 24.2 cm

Notes: See a related pillow of similar decoration but within double borders, from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts in Sodai no Toji [Song Ceramics], Tokyo, 1979, pl. 100

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A finely carved 'Dengfeng' pillow, Northern Song dynasty

A finely carved 'Dengfeng' pillow, Northern Song dynasty. Estimate 80,000 — 100,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's

of rectangular section tapering towards the base, the concave top and sides  exquisitely carved through the creamy-white slip to the dark body with long stems bearing large peony blooms among leafy foliage, covered overall in a transparent glaze save for the underside covered in a white slip - Width 7 3/4  in., 19.7 cm

Exhibition: Zhongguo taoci jingpin zhan [The Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics of Eight Dynasties], National Museum of History, Taipei, 1987, p. 33.

Notes: This pillow is notable for its bold and vigorous floral scroll which has been endowed with an added sense of three-dimensionality through its carving and delicately incised lines. Pillows decorated with the sgraffito technique, which involved the application of a layer of white slip subsequently carved to reveal the brownish body of the piece, were produced at the Dengfeng kilns in Henan province, Northern China, during the early Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Fragments of similarly decorated vessels were unearthed in the Dengfeng area; for example see a reconstructed ewer illustrated in Series of China's Ancient Porcelain Kiln Sites. Dengfeng Kiln of China, Beijing, 2011, pl. 57.

A similar ingot-shaped pillow, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is published in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics. Song Dynasty (I), vol. 7, Shanghai,  1999, pl. 196; another in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is illustrated in Ceramic Art of the World. Song Dynasty, vol. 12; Tokyo 1977, pl. 112; and a third published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3, pt. II, London, 2006, no. 1532. See also two cloud-shaped pillows of this type, the first from the Lucy Maud Buckingham collection, and now held in the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, and the second in the Yamato Bunkakan Museum, Nara, published in Jan Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 41, nos. g and j.  

 Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A rare 'Dengfeng' 'Peony' meiping, Northern Song dynasty

A rare 'Dengfeng' 'Peony' meiping, Northern Song dynasty. Estimate 80,000 — 100,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's

of slender ovoid form, rising from a recessed base to a rounded shoulder and narrow short-waisted neck with a lipped rim, covered overall with a white slip and freely incised with a broad band of stylized peony, with a classic scroll band below the neck and overlapping petals around the base, all on a ground of stamped rings- Height 15 3/8  in., 39 cm

Literature: Chugoku meito ten: Chugoku toji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of Chinese Pottery: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics], Tokyo, 1992, no. 30

Notes: Freely carved with a bold design of floral sprays on a ground of tightly stamped rings that are often referred to as 'fish roe', this meiping is comparable in form and style of decoration to a number of meiping excavated from the Dengfeng kilns in Henan province, illustrated in Series of China's Ancient Porcelain Kiln Sites. Dengfeng Kiln of China, Beijing, 2011, pls. 6-11. Vessels of this type were influenced by Tang metalwork, evident in the ‘fish roe’ ground, which imitates the effect of ring-punched ground. Furthermore, the leafy scroll on the shoulder is reminiscent of classic scrolls on silver vessels.

Related meiping include one, from the collection of R.L. Banks, sold three times in our London rooms, in 1971, 1973 and, 9th December 1975, lot 114; a slightly smaller example, in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, The Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, included in the exhibition Freedom of Clay and Brush through Seven Centuries in Northern China. Tz'u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 A.D., The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1980, pl. 18; and another with floral blooms, in the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 1, 1994, pl. 491. See also a larger meiping carved with a petal diaper over a fish-roe ground, in the Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, included in the exhibition Freedom of Clay and Brush, op. cit., pl. 27; and another from the collection of J.C. Thomson, sold in our London rooms, 15th June 1982, lot 50.

Meiping of this type are also known carved with a variety of motifs; see one decorated with a standing scholar, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, Tokyo, vol. 10, 1980, no. 24; and another carved with a ferocious beast, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 178.

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM