Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018
A rare green Jun bud-form water pot, Song-Jin dynasty, 12th-13th century
Lot 1316. A rare green Jun bud-form water pot, Song-Jin dynasty, 12th-13th century; 3 ¼ in. (8.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 27,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018.
The water pot of lotus bud-form is covered inside and out with a thick glaze of greyish-green tone thinning to mushroom at the mouth rim and ending in an irregular line above the low, waisted foot to expose the buff stoneware body.
Provenance: Sotheby & Co., London, 10 November 1959, lot 58.
Bluett & Son, London.
The Dr. and Mrs. Corbin Collection, California.
Exhibited: Portland, Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 12.
On loan: Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Note: Jun water containers of this elegant form, apparently inspired by a lotus bud, are well known, although green-glazed examples appear to be quite rare. Those with the more usual blue glaze are well represented in public and private collections, including some with their original covers, such as the example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 242, no. 218, and one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by S. Valenstein, Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989 rev. ed., p. 87, no. 79.