Lot 1031. A very rare Longquan celadon octagonal dish, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 6 1⁄2 in. (16.5 cm.) across, cloth box. Estimate USD 80,000 – USD 120,000. Price realised USD 756,000. © Christie's 2022

The dish has a circular concave center and is covered overall with an even bluish-green glaze suffused with faint crackle.

Provenance: The J. M. Hu (1911-1995), Zande Lou Collection.

Literature: Helen D. Ling and Edward T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1950, no. 27.
A. G. Poster, Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections, Japan Society in association with the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, 1999, no. 46, pp.136-137.

Exhibited: New York, Japan Society in association with the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections, New York, 1999, no. 46.

Note: The elegant shape of this dish, with the flat, everted, octagonal rim, was likely based on Song-dynasty silver and gold prototypes. It is very rare to find a Longquan celadon dish of this shape and very few are published. The present example is distinguished by its lustrous glaze with a dynamic, icy crackle. A similar dish (15.87 cm.) with a finely crackled glaze can be found in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Avery Brundage Collection, illustrated by M. Tregear in Song Ceramics, New York, 1982, p.138, no. 183. A dish of this shape, accompanied by a small octagonal bowl, from the Szekeres Collection, is illustrated by J.J. Lally & Co. in Chinese Art, The Szekeres Collection, New York, 2019, no. 2 where it is noted that a gold octagonal dish and matching bowl from the tomb of the Southern Song official Zhu Xiyan (1135-1200) and his wife is illustrated in by the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Zhong king ji sheng: Nan Song feng wu guanzhi (Achievements of Southern Song Dynasty), Beijing, 2015, p. 16, pl. 10. Another parcel-gilt silver example with matching bowl is illustrated in the same publication, p. 27, pl. 52.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 25 march 2022