Lot 845. A white glazed ewer and lid with underglaze iron decoration, Trần dynasty, 13th-14th century; 8 1/4in (21cm) height of ewer; 9 5/8in (24.5cm) height with lid. Estimate US$ 4,000 - 6,000 (€3,400 - 5,100). Unsold. Photo: Bonhams.

The ewer of ovoid form with a wide cup-shaped mouth and waisted neck, a long dragon-headed spout and elaborate leafy tendril handle applied to the shoulder painted with leafy sprigs and bands of striping that repeat on the domed lid of curving lotus leaf form, the glaze showing a milky white hue where pooled while the buff clay body is visible on the unglazed surfaces of the foot pad and shallow base, the mouth and lid interior. 

Published: James H. Brow and Anh Hoang Brow, 'Vietnamese Ceramics: A Ten Thousand Year Continuum,' Arts of Asia, March-April 2004, p. 83, no. 7. 

Note: For ewers of similar shape and decoration, see John Stevenson and John Guy, Vietnamese Ceramics: A Separate Tradition, 1997, p. 258, no. 155; p. 259, no. 157; and p. 260, no. 158. As noted on p. 259, the lid in the shape of a curling lotus leaf was inspired by Chinese Longquan wares of the same period. However Phlippe Truong notes the influence of Persian metalwork on the elaborate foliate handle and pear form in a similar celadon glazed ewer published in The Elephant and the Lotus: Vietnamese Ceramics in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, New York, 2007, p. 128, no. 94 (as 14th/15th century).

Bonhams. FINE ASIAN WORKS OF ART, 18 Dec 2017, 11:00 PST, SAN FRANCISCO