Lot 713. A very rare persimmon-glazed meiping, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm.) high. Estimate USD 150,000 - USD 250,000. Price realised USD 317,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The vase is well potted with an ovoid body rising to a flaring neck below a flat everted mouth rim. The exterior and recessed base are covered with a glaze of russet-brown tone with an attractive sheen, stopping irregularly above the unglazed foot, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: The Ataka Collection. 

Literature: Koyama Fujio, ed., Sekai Toji Zenshu (Collection of World’s Ceramics), vol. 10: China Sung and Liao Dynasties, Tokyo, 1956, no. 13. 
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Ataka korekushon: chugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from Ataka Collection), Tokyo, 1972, no. 14. 
Koyama Fujio, Toji taikei (Compendium of Ceramics), vol. 38:tenmoku, Tokyo, 1974, pl. 62. 
Asahi Shimbun, Song Ceramics, Tokyo, 1999, p. 78, no. 41. 
Christie’s, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Colletion, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 96-97, no. 35.

Exhibited: Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Osaka Mitsukoshi Department Store,Ataka korekushon: chugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from Ataka Collection), November 1972. 
Asahi Shimbun, Song Ceramics, Tokyo, 6 March to 13 April 1999; Osaka, 25 April to 13 June 1999; Hagi, 20 June to 15 August 1999.
Christie’s, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Colletion, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013. 

Note: This elegant and rare persimmon-glazed meiping was formerly in the world-renowned Ataka Collection, formed by Ataka Eiichi (1901-1994). The Ataka Collection features about 1,000 pieces of Asian ceramics, and is celebrated for its exceptional quality. 

The persimmon glaze was produced at several northern kilns in the Song dynasty and was highly admired for the attractive sheen on the surface. Persimmon-glazed meiping are very rare and only a few comparable examples are known. A closely related example is in the Harvard University Art Museums, illustrated by R. D. Mowry, Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Brown-and Black Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996, pp. 123-124, no. 24. A slightly taller example with narrower shoulders, formerly in the collection of Sir Herbert Ingram (1875- 1958), was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2014, lot. 3323. A shorter and more globular vase is in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, and is illustrated by Gakuji Hasebe, Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 123. See, also, the truncated meiping in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 112.

Christie's. The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: The Linyushanren Collection, Part II. 15 September 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza