Lot 112. A 'Cizhou' painted 'dragon and phoenix' meiping, Jin dynasty (1115–1234). Estimate 25,000 — 30,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's

the round shouldered tapering body rising from a recessed spreading base to a narrow neck and angled rim, freely painted in dark brown on a creamy-white ground with two large cusped panels, one enclosing a scaly dragon within cloud whorls, the other with a phoenix in flight, all between a leafy foliate scroll at the shoulder and simple scroll bands at the base, Japanese wood box. Quantité: 2 - 37 cm, 14 1/2  in.

Provenance: Collection of Howard Hollis.
Sotheby's New York, 18th September 1996, lot 184.

Exhibition: Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period through Ch'ien-Lung: A Loan Exhibition from Collections in America and Japan, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1952, cat. no. 216.

Notes: A meiping painted with birds in cartouches and with a similar floral motif on the shoulder, from the collection of Milfred R. and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition The Animal in Chinese Art, London, 1968, cat. no. 439, was sold twice in our New York rooms, 25th May 1944, lot 345, and 20th September 2000, lot 96, and again in these rooms, 12th May 2010, lot 54.

A 'Cizhou' painted meiping, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Lot sold 55,250 GBP at Sotheby's London, 12th May 2010, lot 54. Photo: Sotheby's.

the elongated body with high shoulders boldly painted with a foliate scroll above a cross-hatched background, set between triple line borders, the main band of decoration painted with diamond-like panels enclosing a phoenix with outstretched wings amidst clouds and a crane amongst leafy stems bearing a chrysanthemum blossom, and two fast meanders near the foot, all painted in mottled brown on a cream ground beneath a clear glaze with fine crackle, the recessed base unglazed showing the buff ware; 34.3cm., 13 1/2 in.

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 25th May 1944, lot 345.
Yamanaka & Co., New York.
Collection of Mildred R. and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh. 
Sotheby's New York, 20th September 2000, lot 96.

Exhibited: The Animal in Chinese Art, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1968, no. 439, pl. 13, fig. B.

Notes: See a meiping formerly in the Howard Hollis collection and included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period through Ch'ien-Lung. A Loan Exhibition from Collections in America and Japan, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1952, cat. no. 216; another 'Cizhou' vase of this type boldly painted in dark brown with an animated dragon amidst spiral clouds, sold in our New York rooms, 18th September 1996, lot 184; and a third example, painted with figures, from the collection of Gustaf Hillestrom and included in the exhibition Kina som Hobby, Ostasiatiska Museet, Stockholm, 1968, cat. no. 27b, sold in these rooms, 16 December 1980, lot 533.

The bird and flower motif can be found on a 'Cizhou' guan jar from the collection of Thos. Barlow Walker, sold in our New York rooms, 26th September 1972, lot 696. Compare also a jar painted with phoenix, excavated from the ruins of the Yuan capital Dadu, modern Beijing, included in the exhibition Archaeological Treasures Excavated in the People's Republic of China, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1973, cat. no. 228.

Related designs of phoenix and dragons in cartouches are more commonly found on guan jars, such as one in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, included in the exhibition Freedom of Clay and Brush. Tz’u-chou Type Wares, The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1980, cat. no. 93; two sold in our London rooms, the first, 5th July 1977, lot 140, and the second, 7th December 1993, lot 174; and another sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 18th May 1982, lot 83. See also a jar painted with phoenix, excavated from the ruins of the Yun capital Dadu, included in the exhibition Archaeological Treasures Excavated in the People’s Republic of China, Tokyo National Museum, 1973, cat. no. 228. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 09 nov. 2016, 11:30 AM