Seven Exceptional Pieces of Chinese Porcelain from the Junkunc Collection

5 septembre 2018

Seven Exceptional Pieces of Chinese Porcelain from the Junkunc Collection

There are a handful of collectors in the world of Chinese art that are inextricably associated with works of exceptional quality. Stephen Junkunc, III, (1905–1978) is among these luminaries. At its height, the Junkunc collection numbered over 2,000 examples of exceptional Chinese porcelain, jade, bronzes, paintings and Buddhist sculptures.

Lot 103. A peachbloom-glazed brushwasher, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722). Diameter 4 5/8 in., 11.7 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Lot sold 100,000 USD. © Sotheby's.

delicately potted of compressed circular form, supported on a shallow tapered foot, the incurved, rounded sides covered with a rich raspberry-red glaze with copper-red flecks, the interior and base left white, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Note: Notoriously difficult to achieve due to the temperamental nature of the copper pigment, the attractive 'peachbloom' glaze is only found on a small group of vessels for the scholar's table and is one of the most iconic groups of porcelain created under the Kangxi emperor. Recent research by Peter Lam and other leading scholars indicates that the famous 'peachbloom' group was produced during the early years of the Kangxi period under the supervision of the skilled Zang Yingxuan, who was sent to Jingdezhen in 1681 to oversee the rebuilding of the kilns and serve as imperial supervisor. To manage the fugitive copper-lime pigment, scholars believe that it was sprayed via a long bamboo tube onto a layer of transparent glaze and then fixed with another layer, so that the pigment is suspended within two layers of clear glaze. The spotted green flecking, referred to as pingguo qing 'apple green', is possible through a technique using varied concentrations of copper that, when exposed during firing, oxidize to form green spots and modulation.

Examples of this celebrated type of peachbloom brush washer are represented in many of the world's finest museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Palace Museum, Beijing, and the Sir Percival David Collection at the British Museum, London. A closely related washer with strikingly similar coloration sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th April 2003, lot 169; another, formerly in the collection of Emily Trevor, sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2007, lot 341; a third, formerly in the collection of Edward T. Chow sold at Christie's New York, 19th March 2008, lot 636; another from the Edward T. Chow Collection sold thrice with us, most recently in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2009, lot 1657; and a further example, from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, sold in these rooms, 20th March 2018, lot 318.

Lot 112. A rare white-glazed 'beehive' waterpot, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722). Diameter 5 1/8 in., 13cm. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 USD. Lot sold 100,000 USD. © Sotheby's.

of classic 'taibai zun' form, the domed hemispherical body with rounded sides tapering to a short waisted neck, the exterior finely molded and carved with three coiled chilong medallions, the exterior applied with an even milky-white glaze, the countersunk base with a three-column six-character reign mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Frank Caro, New York, 9th January 1964.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Note: Beehive waterpots of this shape are well-known with peachbloom glazes but those covered in other monochrome glazes were produced in smaller numbers. A closely related waterpot in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 228; one from the Qing Court Collection, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 111; another in the Koger Collection, illustrated in J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics. The Koger Collection, London, 1985, pl. 139, was sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2012, lot 171; another from the Riesco Collection, illustrated in Edgar E. Bluett, The Riesco Collection of Old Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. 61 (right), was sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1984, lot 430; and a fifth example exhibited on loan at Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, from the collection of Mrs Yale Kneeland, was sold in our New York rooms, 1st June 1994, lot 371, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 26th April 1999, lot 507. Compare also a similar waterpot sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th November 1984, lot 471, and again, 5th April 2017, lot 3607.

Lot 113. An exceptionally rare and fine white-glazed 'lingzhi' cup, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735). Diameter 1 3/4 in., 4.4 cm. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Lot sold 250,000 USD. © Sotheby's.

delicately potted, the steep, tapering sides rising to a slightly flaring rim, the exterior applied with exquisitely incised white-slip decoration of a delicately meandering stem issuing leafy sprays and four lingzhi heads wreathed by curling leaves, the recessed base inscribed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Note: Small cups of this type are extremely rare, this form more often having been decorated with anhua incised dragons or covered in lemon yellow or other enamels. For a dragon-decorated cup in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, vol. I, part 2, pl. 8. See also a slightly larger pair of undecorated white cups from the Meiyintang Collection sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 26.

Lot 115. A fine and rare 'Guan'-type vase, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795). Height 6 3/8 in., 16.2 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 423,000 USD. © Sotheby's.

elegantly potted, the compressed globular body rising from a short foot to a waisted neck and flared mouth, applied overall with a soft bluish-gray glaze suffused with a fine crackle diagonally encircling the body, the footrim dressed in brown, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Note: Notable for its elegant form and subtle bluish glaze suffused with fine streaks of golden-brown crackles, this well-potted vase embodies the Qianlong emperor’s fondness for celebrated Guan ware of the Southern Song dynasty. It also testifies to the high level of technical dexterity of the potters of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, who have skilfully imitated not only the iconic unctuous glaze of the prototype, but also the dark brown foot, which has been left unglazed and stained dark brown.

For other Guan-type vases of similar form, see a slightly larger example covered with a pale ash-gray glaze with dark stained crackles, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th May 1986, lot 83, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th May 2008, lot 1799; and another, sold at Christie’s London, 6th June 1988, lot 115. See also Ru-type vases of similar form, such as one from the collection of Stephen Junkunc, III, sold at Christie’s New York, 19th March 2008, lot 658; and a slightly larger version from the J.M. Hu Collection, illustrated in Helen D. Long and Edward T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, vol. IV, Hong Kong, 1950, pl. 172, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 111; and another sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th November 1989, lot 180, and 10th January 2001, lot 584.

Lot 116. A very rare imperially inscribed double lozenge-form famille-rose brushpot, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795). Width 5 1/4 in., 13.5 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 225,000 USD. © Sotheby's.

finely potted with ribbed edges framing each panel of the double-lozenge form, the four longer sides vibrantly enameled with chrysanthemum, peonies, morning glory, pinks and bamboo growing from rockwork with two butterflies in flight, the narrow faceted sides each with a two column inscription in zhuanshu, kaishu, xingshuand lishu script, each bearing two seals reading qian and long, all framed within iron-red and gilt borders, the interior and base with a turquoise enamel, save for the six-character seal mark inscribed in underglaze blue beneath a clear glaze.

Provenance: Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Note: This unusual brushpot represents the Qianlong emperor’s personal taste, which gravitated towards porcelain designs that were artistically complex, and revealed his appreciation for scholarship as expressed in his writings and poems.

A smaller famille-rose brushpot of this form, painted with panels enclosing court ladies and attendants engaged in leisurely pursuits, as well as flowers amidst rockwork, was sold at Christie’s London, 11th May 2010, lot 268. Brushpots of such distinctive auspicious shape were also produced in various palettes; such as one covered in a 'robin’s egg’ glaze, illustrated in Qing Zhenzong, Qingdai ciqi shangjian [Appreciation of Qing Dynasty Porcelain], Hong Kong, 1994, pl. 179; and an underglaze-red example painted with a landscape scene, in the Guangdong Provincial Museum, Guangzhou, illustrated in Guangdongsheng bowuguan cang taoci xuan [The Collection of Ceramics of the Guangdong Provincial Museum], Beijing, 1992, pl. 182.

Lot 105. A superb peachbloom-glazed 'beehive' waterpot, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722). Diameter 5 in., 12.7 cm. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 USD. Unsold. © Sotheby's.

finely potted of classic domed 'taibai zun' form, the slightly tapering sides rising to a rounded shoulder and short waisted neck below a lipped mouth rim, the exterior evenly applied overall save for the rim and base with a vibrant crimson-red glaze suffused with green sprinkles imitating the skin of a ripening peach, the body further faintly incised with three stylized archaistic dragon roundels, the recessed white base with a six-character mark in three columns in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Note: Striking for its vibrant crimson-red glaze, this waterpot is a rare example that has been successfully fired to an extraordinary quality. Copper pigment is notoriously difficult to control due to its temperamental nature, and the number of examples featuring different tones of red glaze impressively highlights the difficulties experienced by the potters working at the imperial kilns during the Kangxi period (r. 1662-1722). This attractive glaze is found only on a select group of vessels for the scholar’s table in eight different shapes, one of the most iconic groups of porcelain created under the Kangxi emperor.

Compare two closely related examples sold in our Hong Kong rooms, one from the collections of Dudley L. Pickman and General Charles G. Loring, 5th April 2017, lot 1113, the second, 4th April 2012, lot 3101; and another from the Robert Chang Collection, included in An Exhibition Important Chinese Ceramics from the Robert Chang Collection, Christie’s London, 1993, cat. no. 36.

Further waterpots of this type include one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 142, pl. 125; one in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 206; another from the Sir Percival David Collection, now in the British Museum, London, published in Margaret Medley, Ming and Qing Monochrome Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1989, pl. 580; and a fourth example, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 8th October 1990, lot 467, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 3612.

These waterpots are known as taibai zun after the Tang dynasty poet Li Taibai, who is often depicted leaning against a large wine jar of similar form, as seen in a porcelain sculpture which shows the poet seated with closed eyes and a cup in hand, published in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, op. cit., p. 106, pl. 89. They are also referred to as jizhao zun, because their shape resembles that of a chicken coop.

Lot 104. An exceptionally rare pair of copper-red relief-molded 'chilong' bottle vases, Kangxi marks and period (1662-1722). Height 8 3/4 in., 22.3cm. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 USD. Lot sold 200,000 USD. © Sotheby's.

each finely potted with an ovoid body and a rounded shoulder rising to a tall cylindrical neck flaring slightly to a lipped rim, the shoulder and neck encircled by a relief-molded striding three-clawed chilong, decorated with a copper-red 'peachbloom' glaze, the recessed base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue (2).

Provenance: Collection of George. R. Davies (1843-1918).
Edgar Ezekiel Gorer, London and New York.
Collection of William H. Whitridge (d. 1939).
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 16th April 1939, lot 534.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Exhibited: Catalogue of the Collection of Old Chinese Porcelains formed by George R. Davies, Purchased by Gorer and Exhibited at Dreicer & Co., NY, New York, 1913, cat. no. 124.
The Whitridge Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, 1930, cat. no. 287.
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1951.