Lot 90. The MQ Collection. A painted grey earthenware figure of an ox, Northern Wei dynasty (386-535). L. 18.5 cm. Lot Sold 7,620 EUR (Estimate 4,000 - 6,000 EUR). © Sotheby's
Provenance: Acquired by the original collector in Japan in 1980's.
Acquired from a private collection in Taipei in 1988.
General light surface wear. Both ears and the tail are re-stuck to the body.
Lot 91. The MQ Collection. An inscribed 'Jizhou' ‘tortoiseshell’ bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279). D. 10.1 cm. Lot Sold 5,334 EUR (Estimate 3,000 - 4,000 EUR). © Sotheby's
inscribed in ink to the base with a le character.
Provenance: Acquired by the original collector in Japan in 1980's.
Acquired from a private collection in Taipei in 1988.
Note: Southern Song potters at Jiangxi province's Jizhou kilns developed this lively dappled glaze to apply to various forms of stoneware cups, bowls, and vases. Known in Chinese and English as 'tortoiseshell' glaze, it is characterised by an overall black-coffee color inflected with creamy tones ranging from deep amber to taupe, as seen on the present bowls. The effect seems to have been created by first dipping the vessel in a medium-brown slip glaze then, following the drying, dipping it in a darker brown glaze slurry, splashing it with a paste of wood or bamboo-ash and water, drying it again, and finally firing it right side up in the saggar.
Compare a slightly larger tea bowl in the Simon Kwan Collection was exhibited in Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 170.
Lot 92. The MQ Collection. A sancai white-glazed pottery figure of sheep with yellow spots, Tang dynasty (618-907). L. 19 cm. Lot Sold 1,905 EUR (Estimate 2,000 - 3,000 EUR). © Sotheby's
Provenance: Acquired by the original collector in Japan in 1980's.
Acquired from a private collection in Taipei in 1985.
Lot 97. The MQ Collection. A 'Yaozhou' celadon carved 'peony' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). D. 12.3 cm. Lot Sold 1,905 EUR (Estimate 2,000 - 3,000 EUR). © Sotheby's
Provenance: Acquired by the original collector in Japan in 1980's.
Acquired from a private collection in Taipei in 1990's.
Lot 98. The MQ Collection. A 'Jian' 'hare's fur' tea bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279). D. 10.7 cm. Lot Sold 2,794 EUR (Estimate 2,000 - 3,000 EUR). © Sotheby's
Provenance: Mr Liu Liang-Yu (1946-2006) Collection, 1980's, Taipei.
Acquired from Mr Liu Liang-Yu in 1998, Taipei.
Sotheby's. Asian Arts / 5000 Years, Paris, 18 April 2023
