Lot 830. An extremely rare Yue celadon ewer, cover and warm basin, Five Dynasties-Northern Song dynasty, 10t-11th century; Ewer: 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm.) high, brocade box; Basin: 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.) diam., brocade box. Estimate USD 120,000 – USD 150,000. Price realised USD 756,000. © Christie's 2023

The ewer has an almost spherical body incised with four large floral medallions alternating with pairs of foliate sprays below scrollwork bands at the shoulder and the base of the neck, and is flanked by the short, curved spout and arched, double-strap handle, both with incised foliate motifs. The domed cover fits over the neck of the ewer and is decorated with petal lappets and further scrolls. The deep basin is decorated on the exterior with four scroll-filled medallions and on the interior with a central design of stylized waves. The ewer, cover and basin are covered overall with a translucent glaze of pale olive-green tone.

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 3757.

Note: This type of Yue ewer is exceptionally rare. Only a handful of published examples are known, with varying decoration of foliate roundels as seen on the present ewer, birds or parrots, or no decoration. Even rarer, and perhaps unique, is that it has survived together with its corresponding basin.

A Yue ewer of similar form, incised with twin parrot medallions and foliate decoration, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is illustrated by S. Valenstein in A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1975, p. 78, no. 72a, and also on the Musuem’s website. The Met ewer also exhibits the same whitish kiln adhesions on the base as those seen on the present ewer. 

Ewer with Parrots, Five Dynasties (907–960), 10th century. Stoneware with incised decoration under celadon glaze (Yue ware). H. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm). Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Roger G. Gerry, 1979 (1979.502). © 2000–2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Other Yue ewers of similar shape and with similar foliate roundels include a ewer and cover illustrated by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, p. 181, no. 312, and a ewer exhibited by J. J. Lally & Co. in Early Chinese Ceramics, An American Private Collection, New York, 2005, no. 47.

See, also, the very similar Yue ewer and cover with incised medallions and foliate motifs under a degraded glaze, from Zhengjiang city, Jiangsu province, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji: 6, Tang, Wudai (The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics: vol. 6, Tang and Five Dynasties), Shanghai, 2000, no. 147, where another Yue ewer of this form without cover and lacking incised decoration, from Cixi city, Zhejiang province, is illustrated, no. 164.

The results of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. P202a23B is consistent with the dating of the basin.

Lot 827. A carved Yue celadon cup stand, Early Northern Song dynasty, 10t-11th century; 5 in. (12.6 cm.) diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 10,000 – USD 15,000. Price realised USD 25,200. © Christie's 2023

The cup stand is of lower saucer shape with a wide, flat petal-lobed rim incised with lotus blossoms. The central support rises from a deep recess and is carved around the sides with a band of overlapping petals below a circular lip enclosing a platform. The stand is covered overall with a glaze of greenish-olive tone.

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4886.

Note: A very similar Yue cup stand discovered in 1979 at a construction site in Shangpuzha, Shangyu city, Zhejiang province, and now in the Shangyu Museum, is illustrated by Zhang (ed.) in Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji (Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China), vol. 9, Beijing, 2008, p. 155, no. 155.

Shards of similar cup stands unearthed from the Yue kiln sites at Silongkou, Zhejiang province, are illustrated in Silongkou Yueyao zhi (The Yuezhou Kiln Site at Silongkou), Beijing, 2002, p. 167, color pl. 209 and in line drawings on p. 166, pl. 93-1 and 93-5.

Christie's. J. J. Lally& Co., New York, 23.03.2023