'Pre-Song Dynasty Ceramics from American and Japanese Collections', Zetterquist Galleries at Asia Week New York

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17 septembre 2023

'Pre-Song Dynasty Ceramics from American and Japanese Collections', Zetterquist Galleries at Asia Week New York

A spherical stoneware mat weight with a flat bottom, into which a hole has been centered. The top is surmounted by a small loop handle, which is decorated with a finely impressed circular pattern. The top half is partially covered with an a brownish-green natural ash glaze. A small loop handle sits at the apex, and has an early 20th century Japanese cord tassel attached. From a private Japanese collection and in an old, fitted and inscribed Japanese box.

A small round ewer in the form of a bird, with chicken- headed spout and opposed projecting tail. The shoulders are surmounted by two loop handles and decorated with incised sprays within incised bands. The short neck is topped with a stepped lid. It is covered with an olive green glaze. The flattened “Bi” shaped foot rim has five spur marks and a shallow foot-well. Some grinding to the mouth rim and small hairline crack.

Provenance: Betty V. Gewald Collection until 1995
Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection.

A pair of dark grey pottery attendant figures mounted on dark wooden stands. Each figure has a molded body with flat back and flowing robes with hands clasped at belly. The outer robes and hats are colored with cinnabar red (now partially flaked and touched up) and other areas with partial white paint. Old repairs to cracks in the bodies.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 15th June 1964, lot 68.

Collection of Wou Kiuan (1910-1997).

Wou Lien-Pai Museum, from 1968-2022

A large ewer of bulbous form with a cylindrical spout and a neck with flared mouth-rim. There is a double-strand handle that rises from the shoulder to just under the mouth-rim with three large beads and a curled decoration on the top and a flattened bead at the base. The entire piece sits on a wide, unglazed, splayed foot that has a flat bottom and reveals a white earthenware body. The rest of the piece is covered in a thin, pale glaze with very pale grey/green tint visible in mottled areas (small areas of glaze flaking near the edges of the spout and part of the mouth rim.) From the Gongyi Kilns.

TL tested- C-Link Research and Developement (Chinese University, Hong Kong) Report number 2748WE78.

A similar example from the Charles B. Hoyt Collection is in the MFA Boston, and is published in “The Charles B. Hoyt Collection”, MFA Boston 1952, pl. 140. Another, of slightly more compressed form, is published in “Series of Ancient Porcelain Kiln Sites; Gongyi Kiln of China”, Beijing 2011. Pg. 283 and 415.

A large ovoid jar with domed lid surmounted by a lotus bud finial. The finely formed ovoid body has a short, flared mouth-rim and a slightly flared base with flat foot. The piece is covered in a translucent, finely crackled glaze down to its foot, which has fired to a mottled tan color.

Provenance: Chinese Porcelain Company, New York
Private New York Collection
Christie’s, 2008.

A large porcelaineous stoneware jar with high shoulders tapering down to a smaller flat foot. The slightly curved neck ends in a flaring, rounded mouth-rim. The piece is covered with a translucent glaze of pale greenish tone which ends a few centimeters above the foot, revealing a dense white porcelaineous stoneware body.

Accomanied by Oxford TL test #P100w52

Provenance: Private Collection, New York

Purchased in London.

A small earthenware ewer with bulbous body standing on a flared pedestal foot with rounded rim The body is surmounted by a flared neck and trefoil mouth-rim, in the fashion of Persian metal-work ewers. The handle runs from the top-back of the mouth down to the top of the shoulders, with beads applied to top and bottom. The neck, mouth, and handle are covered in a rich amber colored glaze, while the body is covered in a cobalt blue glaze spotted white by wax resist and streams of amber. The bottom section of the body and foot are unglazed, revealing a white pottery body.
Other similar examples are published in the Nezu Museum’s catalog “Tang Pottery and Porcelain”, 1988., pg. 85, fig. 8.

Provenance: From a private Japanese Collection and in an old Japanese box.

A compressed globular formed jar of white earthenware standing on three claw-foot legs. It has four applied relief medallions of leaping mythical beasts separated by eight smaller floral and fig-leaf medallions. These applied features are covered with amber and green sancai glaze. Two areas of old rim restorations. A similar piece is illustrated from excavation photos in “Tang Pottery and Porcelain: Nezu Museum 1988. Pg. 133. pl. 37. Another with identical appliqués and form, but with green background, and attributed to the Gonxian kilns in Henan, can be found in the Chinese Ceramics from the MeiYinTang Collection, vol. 3, pl. 1286. This piece came out of an old Japanese collection and is accompanied by a fitted wooden and inscribed box from the Taisho period, early 20th c. Japan.

Provenance: Private Japanese Collection

Private American collection

Zetterquist Galleries, New York 2014

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection.

A flat-bottomed plate with gently curved cavetto and broad, flat rim with raised edge. The inside is decorated with a Persian inspired floral medallion surrounded by six lotus depictions in profile and six closed buds between them. The decoration is incised, then colored with blue, green and amber glazes that adhere well to the pattern. The rest of the plate is white and covered with a translucent, finely crackled glaze, now slightly degraded in some areas, that continues on the back to the flattened bottom. The entire piece sits on three legs of stylized lion's paw form.

Provenance: Zetterquist Galleries, 2001

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection.

A stoneware Changsha jug-form lamp with slightly lobed body and short narrow neck, small cut-out area just above unglazed base, with two loop handles at shoulder above two large applied leaf-form bosses molded with grapevines. The shoulder and neck also have applied high relief of a seated lion and bird tail. The neck, shoulder and body have streaks of amber and green, all under pale tan glaze.

Provenance: Kaikodo, 1992

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection

A sancai glazed pottery amphora with high shouldered body surmounted with a tall flared neck ending in a cup mouth. The two handles are in the form of over-arching dragons rising up from the shoulders and biting down on the mouth-rim. It is covered with a mottled sancai glaze of green and amber, which stops below the shoulders, revealing a grey clay body covered in slip. The foot is slightly concave. Some minor areas of burial adhesions.

TL tested by Oxford Authentication.

Provenance: Berwald Oriental Art, 1997

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection

A Changsha ewer of high-shouldered form delineated by four lobes and surmounted by a wide, flaring mouth-rim. A grooved strap handle connects the body to the neck on one side, with short faceted spout atop the shoulder on the other. The exterior and interior is covered with a thin yellowish celadon glaze which ends short of the flat, stained bottom. The body is decorated with a depiction of a bird and flower-heads outlined in brown with green highlights. Repaired foot-rim chips.
Provenance: Nankai Tokyo, 2012.

A small Changsha bird-shaped ewer with compressed melon form body decorated with wings, tail and bird head in relief. The form sits on a short, straight foot and is surmounted by a stepped lid with bud finial. The pale, yellowish celadon glaze is highlighted with green and brown splashes. The foot is unglazed, revealing a grey stoneware body fired to a buff color. TL tested.
Provenance: Littleton and Hennessey, 2017.

A porcelaineous stoneware ewer covered with a translucent ivory colored glaze that stops just short of its finely potted foot rim. The piece is formed of two spheres conjoined by a narrow connection giving it the appearance of a double gourd. The bottom section has a slightly flattened and ridged spout formed for pouring sideways. (old repair at tip.) A wide, flattened looped handle joins the top and bottom sections, and has a molded floral decoration. The unglazed under-foot has an incised "guan" character, incised after firing. A piece of similar form, but with double strand handle, appears in Xing Kiln of China, Beijing, 2012, pl. 97.

Provenance: Private American Collection
Zetterquist Galleries, 2014
Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection.

A deep square porcelaineous stoneware plate with foliate form rim and molded floral decorations around the cavetto, conforming to the petals. The inside bottom has a central coin shaped medallion with molded plum blossom pattern. The entire piece, except for its flat unglazed base, is covered with an idilic early Ding ware glaze that pools to a taupe color. One minute and two small rim chip restorations.

Although this piece is very much in the Liao Dynasty style, there is little doubt that it was produced in the Ding kilns. See “Selection of Ding Ware: The Palace Museum’s Collection and Archeological Excavation”, Beijing 2012 pl. 20. Identical pieces in Kodansha’s 1982 publication “Oriental Ceramics; World’s Greatest Collections” Vol. 8 pl. 27 from the Kempe Collection at The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities.

A small conical stoneware bowl with a finely formed unglazed foot rim and thinly glaze underfoot fired to a pale buff color. The underfoot has an original firing “star crack”. The bowl is covered with a sweet pale green glaze that thins at the rim. Although reminiscent of later “moon white” glazes, this piece is representative of tenth century examples.

A piece of the same type with steeper walls is published in “Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ceramics”, Osaka Museum of Oriental Ceramics, 1997. Pl. 18.

Provenance: J.J. Lally and Co., 1994

The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection.

A northern white ware porcelaineous stoneware shallow bowl with its rim carved in a foliate design of five lobes divided into two petals each, and covered with a translucent glaze. (Some minute rim chips.) The outside has ivory colored glaze pooling and sits on a straight, neatly cut unglazed foot-rim.

A similar example from the Carl Kempe Collection is published in “Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection”, Stockholm, 1964. pg. 113, pl. 338.

Provenance: Private American Collection.