A 'Longquan' celadon-glazed ewer, Yuan-Ming dynasty (1279-1644)
Lot 502. A 'Longquan' celadon-glazed ewer, Yuan-Ming dynasty (1279-1644). Height 5⅜ in., 13.7 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD. Lot sold 7,560 USD. © Sotheby's 2020.
the baluster body atop a short tapering foot, the long cylindrical neck rising out of a pronounced flange above the shoulder, covered overall with an unctuous sea-green glaze, stopping unevenly to reveal the burnt orange foot, Japanese wood box (3).
Note: Known as a jizi ping (bottle in the shape of the character ji), the present lot closely resembles a kundika, a Buddhist holy water vessel. Only a small number of Longquan vessels of this form are known. A much larger example (48.2 cm high) in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Longquan of the World. Longquan Celadon and Globalization. Vol. II. State Vessels, The Palace Museum, Beijing, 2019, cat. no. 067. A 'Tobi Seiji' vessel of the same form with its accompanying stand was offered in these rooms, 18th March 2008, lot 102.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Live Auction, 23 September 2020, New York