Lot 854. A molded Yaozhou celadon 'duck and lotus' bowl and a saucer, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century.Cup: 4 in. (10 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box; Saucer: 5 3/8 in. (13.5 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box. Estimate USD 15,000 – USD 25,000. Price Realised USD 52,920. © Christie's 2023

The petal-lobed bowl is decorated with a band of swimming ducks and lotus encircling a central floral medallion beneath leafy scroll. The saucer has an upturned rim and is similarly decorated on the interior with a band of ducks swimming amidst stylized waves, lotus and sagittaria, which surround the central medallion with a blossoming lotus stem. Both are covered overall with a glossy, olive-green glaze.

Provenance: Kochukyo Co. Ltd., Tokyo, 1993.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York.

Note: A Yaozhou celadon bowl of this rare form impressed with the same design, from the Yao Zhou Ware Museum, is illustrated in The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, Osaka, 1997, p. 108, no. 147. Another petal-lobed Yaozhou bowl with a closely related pattern is illustrated by J. Ayers in The Baur Collection, Geneva, 1968, pl. A26, and by J. Wirgin in Sung Ceramic Designs, B.M.F.E.A. No. 42, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 8h. Compare, also, small Yaozhou bowls molded with very similar patterns discovered at the Yaozhou kiln sites in Huangpu, Shaanxi province, illustrated in Song dai Yaozhou yaozhi (The Yaozhou Kiln Site of the Song Period), Beijing, 1998, pl. 41-3 and 41-4, with line drawings on p. 172, pl. 172-8 and 172-9 and descriptions on p. 173.

A very similar Yaozhou celadon saucer is illustrated by J. Ayers in The Seligman Collection of Oriental Art, vol. II, Chinese and Korean Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1964, pl. LI, D146, and by J. Wirgin, op. cit., pl. 10f. Another Yaozhou celadon saucer of closely related form but with a raised ring at the center is illustrated by R. Hobson in Catalogue of the Eumorfopoulos Collection, vol. II, pl. LII, B176.

Lot 855. A molded and carved Yaozhou celadon 'boys' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 8 in. (20.3 cm.) diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 20,000 – USD 30,000. Price Realised USD 22,680. © Christie's 2023

The bowl with notched rim is molded on the interior with three boys swinging playfully from boughs of jagged leaves and peony buds. The exterior is freely carved with a loose pattern of foliate motifs. The bowl is covered overall with a glaze of olive-green tone.

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 3668.

Note: The complex design on the present bowl, combining molded decoration on the interior and carved decoration on the exterior, as well as the large size, are extremely rare.

Compare the smaller Yaozhou bowl decorated on the interior with boys and lotus, but with plain exterior, illustrated by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, p. 238, no. 427. See, also, the small conical bowl molded with boys amidst a foliate design on the interior, also with plain exterior, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 128, no. 114.

Lot 856. A molded Yaozhou celadon figure of a lion, Northern Song dynasty, 11th century; 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm.) high, fitted metal stand, cloth box. Estimate USD 10,000 – USD 15,000. Price Realised USD 73,080.© Christie's 2023

Possibly the cover of a censer, the lion is shown seated on its haunches with its proper right paw resting on a ball and mouth open. The curled mane and tail are detailed with fine lines and the chest is applied with a bell and tassels. The lion is seated on a circular base pierced with an opening leading to the mouth and is covered overall with a dark olive-green glaze.

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 1984.

Note: A similar Yaozhou figure of a lion from the Calmann Collection, now in the collection of the Musée Guimet, Paris, is illustrated in Terre de Neige, de Glace, et d’Ombre: Quatorze siècles d’histoire de la céramique chinoise à travers les collections du Musée Guimet, Taipei, 1999, p. 61, no. 23, where it is dated Northern Song.

See, also, the fragment of a Yaozhou censer with a lion cover, discovered at the Yaozhou kiln site in Huangpu, illustrated in Wu dai Huangpu yao zhi (Excavations of the Five Dynasties Period Kiln-Site at Huangpu in Tongchuan, Shaanxi), Beijing, 1997, and in line drawings on p. 139, pl. 75-1, with description on p. 137. Other fragments of very similar lions found at the Huangpu kilns are illustrated in Song dai Yaozhou yao zhi (The Yaozhou Kiln Site of the Song Period), Beijing, 1998, pl. 120, nos. 1-3, and in line drawings on pp. 400-401, pls. 197-4, 197-5, and 198-1, with descriptions on p. 399.

Lot 857. A molded Yaozhou celadon 'fish and water weeds' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 7 7/8 in. (20 cm.) diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 25,000 – USD 35,000. Price Realised USD 115,920. © Christie's 2023

The shallow bowl is crisply molded on the interior with small fish swimming amidst a dense pattern of leafy water weeds and the underside is freely incised with radiating lines. It is covered overall with a glossy bright olive-green glaze.

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4877.

Note: The pattern on this bowl, with fish amongst dense water weeds, is extremely rare. One very similar example was sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2001, lot 24. More commonly found are bowls with designs of fish on or amongst waves.

A pottery mold of the same water plants and fish design was discovered at the Yaozhou kiln site in Huangpu, Tongchuan city, Shaanxi province, and is illustrated in line drawings in Song dai Yaozhou yao zhi (The Yaozhou Kiln Site of the Song Period), Beijing, 1998, p. 490, pl. 238-6, with description on p. 491.

Lot 858. A small molded Yaozhou celadon bowl, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm.) diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 4,000 – USD 6,000. Price Realised USD 4,788. © Christie's 2023

The conical bowl is crisply molded on the interior with a scrolling stem bearing six flowerheads encircling a florette in the center. It is covered overall with a glossy olive-green glaze, with the knife-cut ring foot and recessed base left unglazed.

Provenance: Property from the Estate of Rose D. Seligsberg (d. 1974); Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 12 March 1975, lot 289.
Robert Ferris Collection, Windsor, Vermont, 1975-1997.
Private American collection, 1997-2019.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4905.

Literature: J. J. Lally & Co., Brush & Clay: Paintings by Robert Ferris and Chinese Ceramics of the Song Dynasty from the Artist's Collection, New York, 1997, no. 6.

Exhibited: New York, J. J. Lally & Co., Brush & Clay: Paintings by Robert Ferris and Chinese Ceramics of the Song Dynasty from the Artist's Collection, 19 September-18 October 1997, no. 6.

Note: Yaozhou bowls of this classic form and flower scroll pattern can be found in museum collections worldwide and include the example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 129, no. 115; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Song Yuan ciqi tezhan mulu (Special Exhibition of Sung and Yuan Porcelains), Taipei, 1971, no. 44; another in the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrated by Y. Mino and K. Tsiang in Ice and Green Clouds: Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis, 1986, no. 62; one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by S. Valenstein in A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, Rev. Ed., New York, 1989, no. 74; one in The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston illustrated by J. Fontein and Wu Tung, World’s Great Collections: Oriental Ceramics, Vol. 10, Tokyo, 1980, no. 156; and one in the Princeton Art Museum illustrated by Z. Kwok, The Eternal Feast: Banqueting in Chinese Art from the 10th to 14th Century, Princeton, 2019, p. 167, no. 38.

A shard with molded decoration of this pattern discovered at the Yaozhou kiln site in Huangpu, Shaanxi province is illustrated in the excavation report, Song dai Yaozhou yao zhi (The Yaozhou Kiln Site of the Song Period), Beijing, 1998, in a pair of line drawings on p. 107, pl. 60-2.

Lot 859. A carved Yaozhou celadon 'peonies' bowl, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm.) diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 20,000 – USD 30,000. Price Realised USD 21,420. © Christie's 2023

The interior of the wide shallow bowl is carved with three large peony blooms borne on two slender intertwining stems and surrounded by feathery leaves. The reverse is plain except for a line border below the rim. The bowl is covered overall with a glaze of even olive-green tone.

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4741.

Note: While peonies were a popular motif found on Yaozhou wares, this particular pattern, with three blooms borne on central slender stems, appears to be quite rare. A smaller Yaozhou dish carved with a closely related pattern in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge is illustrated in The Arts of the Sung Dynasty, London, 1960, pl. 51, no. 134, p. 57.

Lot 860. A rare and larged Yaozhou celadon tripod censer, Northern Song-Jin dynasty, 12th century; 9 1/8 in. (23.2 cm.) high, cloth box. Estimate USD 50,000 – USD 70,000. Price Realised USD 680,400. © Christie's 2023

The compressed censer is raised on three paw-form feet surmounted by animal masks, and is decorated with a continuous band of six molded archaistic dragon motifs separated by plain flanges, all below a short waisted neck interrupted by a pair of angular bail handles that rise from the wide everted rim. The censer is covered on the exterior and the interior of the rim with a pale green glaze continuing over the rounded base.

Provenance: J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 1774.

Note: A similar Yaozhou censer, with molded as opposed to flat flanges, in the Shaanxi History Museum, is illustrated in The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, Osaka, 1997, p. 82, no. 104, where it was dated to the Jin dynasty. The same censer was previously illustrated by W. Watson in The Genius of China: An Exhibition of Archaeological finds of the People’s Republic of China, London, 1973, p. 151, no. 337. See, also, the large Yaozhou celadon censer of very similar form, but lacking handles, formerly in the Collection of E.G. Kostolani, W. W. Winkworth and F. M. Mayer, illustrated by P. Dubosc in Mostra d’Arte Cinese: Settimo Centenario di Marco Polo, Venice, 1954, p. 121, no. 416, and illustrated again by J. Cahill in The Art of Southern Sung China, New York, 1962, no. 41.

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