Lot 808. A rare chestnut-glazed pottery ewer, China, Liao Dynasty (AD 907-1125);  8 ¼ in. (21 cm.) high. Estimate $6,000 - $8,000. Price Realized $25,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The ovoid body decorated with three small flower head appliques below the two bands of pendent leaf tips applied between the short spout and arched handle, the reel-shaped neck surmounted by an integral cover, all covered in a rich chestnut glaze, the ewer filled through a hole in the unglazed base, box

Provenance: The Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1988.

Note: In the early Liao period, 10th century, a number of small ewers and jars were made with either amber or copper-green glazes covering distinctive incised and applied decoration. Leaf-like appliques similar to those on the present ewer can be seen on a green-glazed ewer of similar shape in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by M. Medley,T'ang Pottery & Porcelain, London, 1981, p. 136, no. 134, as well as on two ewers of Liao date in the Falk Collection sold at Christie's New York, 21 September 2001, lots 29 and 30.

Oxford thermoluminescence test no. P114n74 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Christie's. THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT HATFIELD ELLSWORTH PART IV - CHINESE WORKS OF ART: METALWORK, SCULPTURE AND EARLY CERAMICS, 20 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.