Lot 847. A celadon glazed ovoid ewer and lid, Trần dynasty, 13th-14th century: 7in (18cm) height of ewer, 8in (20.5cm) height with lid. Estimate US$ 2,500 - 4,000 (€2,100 - 3,400). Unsold. Photo: Bonhams.

The ewer molded with a low foot and narrow neck, a makara head spout and a striated loop handle applied on the shoulder carved with leaf scrolls and string bands that repeat in larger scale on the exterior walls beneath an olive green glaze, the foot pad and shallowly recessed base left unglazed; the associated lid shaped like a curving lotus leaf with ribbed walls and a flat knob, the glaze of pale olive green. 

Published: James H. Brow and Anh Hoang Brow, 'Vietnamese Ceramics: A Ten Thousand Year Continuum,' Arts of Asia, March-April 2004, p. 85, no. 12. 

Note: For a ewer of similar shape and decoration, see John Stevenson and John Guy, Vietnamese Ceramics: A Separate Tradition, 1997, p. 238, no. 119, also noting the similarity to carved decoration on Northern Chinese wares produced at the Yaozhou kilns; and p. 236, nos. 115 and 116, for similar lotus leaf covers on melon shaped jars from the same period.

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