An iron brown-decorated bottle, bình Tỳ Bà, Trần-Lê dynasty, 14th-15th century
Lot 863. An iron brown-decorated bottle, bình Tỳ Bà, Trần-Lê dynasty, 14th-15th century; 11 1/2in (29cm) high. Estimate US$ 4,000 - 6,000 (€3,400 - 5,100). Sold for US$ 2,500 (€2,110). Photo: Bonhams.
Of pear form with a pale greenish tinge to the glaze layer, the flared neck painted with flaming pearls on the interior and plantain leaves on the exterior above more flaming pearls filling four lappets on the shoulder, the body inscribed with four Han-Nom characters separated by waves above a row of jeweled lappets, the recessed base within the unglazed foot pad covered with a brown wash.
Published: James H. Brow and Anh Hoang Brow, 'Vietnamese Ceramics: A Ten Thousand Year Continuum,' Arts of Asia, March-April 2004, p. 89, no. 24.
Note: The shape is of Chinese origin, the yuhuchun wine bottle of the 13th/14th century. For a similar bottle with a four-character inscription in the Museum of Southeast Asian Ceramics, Kyoto, see John Stevenson and John Guy,Vietnamese Ceramics: A Separate Tradition, 1997, p. 332, no. 284.
Bonhams. FINE ASIAN WORKS OF ART, 18 Dec 2017, 11:00 PST, SAN FRANCISCO