Lot 55. A large Longquan celadon auspicious jar and cover, Yuan-early Ming dynasties, 14th-15th century; 36 cm, 14⅛ in. Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 EUR. Lot sold: 22,680 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of baluster form, well carved in relief with four auspicious characters jin yu man tang ('May gold and jade fill your halls'), alternating with melon, peach, pomegranate and loquat repeated on the barbed rim cover, applied overall with a beautiful glaze of even celadon colour, save for the footrim and the recumbent dog finial left in the biscuit and burnt orange in the firing.

Provenance: Acquired from an important old Spanish family estate, Catalonia. 

Note: A closely related Longquan celadon jar but with the inscription Mei jiu qing xiang 'fine wine, clear and fragrant' is preserved in the Baur collection, Geneva, illustrated by John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Chinese Ceramics, Geneva, 1968, vol. 1, fig. A 108. Another with the inscription Fu gui shang an, 'May you have peace and prosperity forever', sold with Christie's Hong Kong, 29th May 2007, lot 1474.

Longquan jars of this type complete with their original cover are rare. Compare also a related celadon jar and cover, from the Fujita Museum, sold with Christie's New York, 15th March 2017, lot 502.

Sotheby's. Art d'Asie, Paris, 10 June 2021