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21 novembre 2016

A very rare Cizhou sgraffiato 'peony' vase, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234)

A very rare Cizhou sgraffiato 'peony' vase, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234)

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Lot 3121. A very rare Cizhou sgraffiato 'peony' vase, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234). Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,200,000 (USD 103,642 - USD 155,463). Unsold. © Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

The vase is carved through black slip to depict a broad peony scroll borne on leafy stem above a band of petals against a ground of white slip, all under a clear glaze. The foot and base are applied with a brown slip and unglazed. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm.) high, box.

LiteratureTan Dan-jiong, History of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, Taipei, 1985, p. 488

NotesThe very difficult technique used to produce the striking design on this vase was developed at the Cizhou kilns in the Northern Song dynasty. It involved the application of a pale slip to the unfired stoneware vessel, followed by a dark slip. The outline of the decoration was then incised through the dark top layer and the background area of the design was cut away to reveal the pale slip beneath. Details, such as stamens and leaf veins, were also incised through the dark upper layer either with a fine point or a comb-like instrument. The thin colourless glaze could then be applied and the vessel fired.

This technique required very skilful application, since the slip layers were both relatively soft and the decorator had to judge exactly how deep to cut in order to remove the dark slip layer without accidentally cutting away the lower pale layer. When successfully rendered, the technique was ideal for the depiction of dramatic large-scale floral motifs like those seen on the current vase. Sherds found at the Guantai kiln in Cixian, Hebei province, include examples very similar to the current vase. These sherds are illustrated in the excavation report of the Guantai kiln site, Guantai Cizhou yaozhi, Beijing, 1997, pl. 25-4 and col. pl. 21-2.

A small number of Cizhou sgraffiato vases with similar form and decoration are known, including one in The Matsuoka Museum of Art, illustrated in Selected Masterpieces of Oriental Ceramics, Tokyo, 1984, no. 23; and another published by T. Mikami, Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 13, Tokyo, 1981, p. 238, no. 229. Compare also to an example with similar decoration but a more tapered lower body formerly in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2016, lot 806.

A rare Cizhou-type carved vase, Northern Song dynasty, late 11th-12th century

A rare Cizhou-type carved vase, Northern Song dynasty, late 11th-12th century. Price Realised  USD 197,000 USD at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2016, lot 806. Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

The vase is well carved on the globular body and trumpet-form neck with a broad band of peony scroll bearing two large blossoms framed by leafy, curving stems above a band of narrow petals below, all in dark brown reserved on a white slip ground and covered with a clear glaze. 8 ½ in. (21.4 cm.) high

ProvenanceThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accessioned in 1922 (Rogers Fund).

Jacob S. Rogers (d. 2 July 1901) was the president of Rogers Locomotive Works of Paterson, New Jersey. Rogers became a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1883, but was not a notable donor during his lifetime. Rogers appointed the Museum the residuary legatee of his estate, and had his assets liquidated to establish an endowment fund for the museum. The museum was not informed of this bequest in advance and learned this from the newspaper after Rogers’ death. Aside from the Chinese art acquisitions, other notable acquisitions from the Rogers Fund include the tomb chapel of Raemkai and the nineteen frescoes from the Pompeiian villa of Publius Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale. 

NoteA similarly decorated Cizhou carved meiping from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection was sold at Christie's New York, 18 March 2009, lot 330. 

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

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