A very rare Early Ming Longquan celadon jar and cover, Yongle period (1402-1424)
Lot 3114. A very rare Early Ming Longquan celadon jar and cover, Yongle period (1402-1424); 9 5/8 in. (24.9 cm.) high. Estimate HK$3,000,000 - HK$5,000,000. Price Realized HK$2,440,000 ($316,312). © Christie's Image Ltd 2015
The jar is sturdily potted with an ovoid tapering body rising from a countersunk base with a recessed centre to broad shoulders and a short inturned neck, the domed stepped cover is surmounted by a bud-form finial, covered overall under a glossy green glaze, Japanese wood box
Note: Compare to a nearly identical Longquan covered jar in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Tsai Mei-fen, Green-Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 2009, pp. 238-239, no. 130. It is interesting to compare the form of the current jar to that from the Yuan period, such as an example illustrated in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, no. 170, which has a more globular body but the same stepped base as the current lot. Unlike the Yuan examples, the cover of the current lot has an inner flange that allows for a tighter fit with the jar. For another Ming example with this type of cover, see a carved Longquan jar in the Palace Museum, Beijing, ibid, p. 261, no. 246.
Christie's. IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, Hong Kong, 2 December 2015