Lot 18. Property from an Asian private collection. A painted pottery caparisoned striding horse, Northern Dynasties, 6th century; 39.4cm high. Estimate US$8,000 - US$12,000 (€7,200 - €11,000). Sold for US$10,240. © Bonhams

Well-modeled shown striding forward and dressed in a ceremonial ensemble, the ears pricked up in alert, the neck rising in a high arc and mane neatly combed to either side, the thick braided cord tied behind the head suspending a large tassel hanging over the chest above a row of floral-decorated tassels on the chest strap, the elaborate saddle blankets flaring out to either side, draped with a pleated cloth gathered into an ornamental knot, the gray pottery body covered in white slip with colorful pigments still remains.

Provenance: J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 2004

Exhibited/Published: Ancient Chinese Tomb Sculpture, J.J. Lally & Co., New York, March 22-April 10, 2004, no. 3

Note: Compare the very similar pottery horse shown standing foursquare, unearthed in 1979 from an Eastern Wei tomb of the Princess of the Ruru State in Cixian, Hebei province, illustrated in Wenvu, 1984, No. 4, pl. 5-2, with a line drawing on p. 6, fig. 7-3. Compare also the pottery horse of this type, also unearthed in Cixian, Hebei province, from the tomb of Gao Run who was buried in the Northern Qi dynasty, illustrated in Kaogu, 1979, No. 3, pl. 8-2, with a line drawing on p. 240, fig. 6-1. Another painted pottery horse of this type is illustrated by Bower and Mowry, From Court to Caravan: Chinese Tomb Sculptures from the Collection of Anthony M. Solomon, Cambridge, 2002, p. 92, no. 19.

Lot 19. Property from Mary McFadden. A large green-glazed horse, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 123.2cm high. Estimate US$4,000 - US$7,000 (€3,600 - €6,300). Sold for US$11,520. © Bo6nhams

Note: Large pottery models of horses were produced in Sichuan province during the Han dynasty for funerary contexts. They are characterized by their substantial proportions, animated facial expressions, and bridle fittings on the head. While painted pottery versions are not uncommon, few glazed examples have survived. See an even larger green-glazed model of a horse from the Jingguantang Collection, now in the collection of the Princeton University Art Museum (obj. no. 1997-32) on the museum's website; and a second, sold at Christie's, London, 15 May 2018, lot 35. The green glaze was likely applied to imitate oxidized bronze. For a contemporaneous bronze horse of similar scale and character, see one in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (acc. no. 2002.45); a second sold in our London rooms, 6 November 2006, lot 155; and a third, accompanied by a bronze groom, sold in the same rooms, 7 November 2005, lot 253. For a contemporaneous unglazed pottery example, see one sold in our Los Angeles rooms, 14 April 2022, lot 50.

The results of the thermoluminescence test are consistent with the dating of this piece, Oxford Authentication sample no. C124h20, 7 August 2024

Lot 20. Property from The Estate of Mark S. Pratt (1928-2023), Washington DC. An ash-glazed two-handled proto-porcelain jar, Warring States-Han Dynasty; 35.5cm diam. Estimate US$2,000 - US$3,000 (€1,800- €2,700). Sold for US$2,816. © Bonhams

Heavily potted in a spherical shape on flat foot and finished with a short everted mouth, the shoulder flanked by a pair of taotie mask handles and with two bands of incised 'bird' decoration, the thin olive-green glaze stopping at the waist, the lower body unglazed showing the stoneware body fired to buff-orange.

Provenance: The Estate of Mark. S. Pratt (1928-2023), Washington D.C.

Lot 21. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. Five sancai-glazed vessels, Tang Dynasty (618-907); the tallest 15.2cm high (5). Estimate US$3,000 - US$5,000 (€2,700- €4,500). Sold for US$14,080. © Bonhams

Consisting of a well-potted globular jar with splendid green glaze splashes on a pale cream-glazed body; a footed globular ewer covered half-way down the vessel with a deep green glaze; a green and cream-glazed jarlet with a rolled rim; a sancai cup and ewer.

Lot 22. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A mustard-yellow glazed figure of a laden mule, Sui Dynasty (581-618); 33.6cm across. Estimate US$3,000 - US$5,000 (€2,700- €4,500). Sold for US$4,864. © Bonhams

Standing four-square on a rectangular base, the head finely detailed with harness and mane, a voluminous pack on the saddle secured by strappings around the rump and under the long tail, the saddle and pack unglazed with remains of painted details still visible, the tips of the nose and hoofs painted with white slip, the underside and base unglazed revealing the red pottery body.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 25 March 1998, lot 127

Lot 23. Property from the Preiser Collection. A straw-glazed dragon-handled baluster amphora vase, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 40cm high. Estimate US$5,000 - US$7,000 (€4,500- €6,300). Sold for US$5,760. © Bonhams

The ovoid body set below a tall waisted neck with a cup-shaped mouth, a pair of dragon-form strapwork handles rising from the shoulder and biting the mouth rim, covered with a finely crackled translucent glaze of green hue halfway down to the vessel, the unglazed tapering foot and the flat base revealing light gray stoneware body

Provenance: Acquired before 2005
The Collection of Dr. Franklin Preiser, by descent.

Lot 24. Property from a Private New York City Collection. A sancai-glazed figure of lokapala, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 108cm high. Estimate US$7,000 - US$10,000 (€6,300- €9,000). Sold for US$15,360. © Bonhams

Finely modeled in a lively pose with a ferocious facial expression, the 'phoenix' crown fitted around the hair knot, his right hand at the hip and left hand raised in a fist, the elaborate armor with applied masks of mythical beasts, standing on top of a recumbent ox over a rock-form base, covered overall in amber, green, and cream colored glaze, the head unglazed revealing buff pottery body.

Note: Compare the sancai-glazed lokapala of this posture and also wearing a 'phoenix' crown, in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, donated by Charles H. Ludington in 1923 and originally from the George Crofts Collection, illustrated by Kinoshita, Art of China: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New Haven, 2018, pp. 48-49, no. 8, described by the author: "Originally part of a larger retinue of figures that included a pair of seated guardian creatures (zhenmushou...) and a pair of civil officials, this warrior and his companion replaced the pair of military officials that guarded the tomb dressed in armor, often armed with a shield as well."

The results of the thermoluminescence test are consistent with the dating of this piece, Oxford Authentication sample no. C124h15, 15 August 2024.

Lot 25. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A large and magnificent sancai-glazed braying Bactrian camel, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 82 x 53.2 x 24.7cm. Estimate US$30,000 - US$50,000 (€27,000- €45,000). Sold for US$89400. © Bonhams

Striding forward on a shaped base with neck raised high and mouth held open in a braying motion, a wax-resist sancai glazed saddle cloth with pie-crust edge, pierced and laid over the two shaggy-fur humps that lean to left and right, the tops of the humps, the neck fur, mane and thighs also under a dark black-brown glaze the body amber glaze and with green glaze dribbling from the saddle cloth.

Note: Superbly modeled with an arched neck and mouth open wide as it brays, the Hartman camel is an iconic example of sancai sculptures created during the Tang dynasty. The extraordinary sense of realism, conveyed by the forward moving posture, enhanced by the strong and slender legs, highly detailed with tendons and naturalistic tufts of dark fur, and the tall humps gently swaying to either side of the body, shows a remarkable degree of observation on the sculptor's part which is rarely otherwise encountered on figures of this period to this extraordinary degree.

The splendid figure was individually sculpted and would have been extremely expensive to produce, commissioned exclusively for the internment of an elite member of the Tang society, symbolizing the continuation of wealth and social status in the afterlife. Ancestors in China were deemed guardians and active participants to the life of their living offsprings, if provided with continuous care. Thus the tomb chambers were often painted with servants, gardens and buildings, and the burial content filled with life-like models and a variety of necessities, as if creating a living quarter for the deceased.

The earliest appearance of burial goods in ancient China were ritual jade carvings from the Neolithic period such as Hongshan and Liangzhu cultures. Ritual bronze food and wine vessels became mainstream in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, when the vessels served as a medium to communicate with gods and ancestors. By the time when Qin Shihuangdi (259-210 BC), the First Emperor of China, was building his own mausoleum, a terracotta army was reproduced in greater than life-size figures and strategically placed surrounding the main tomb which remains undisturbed today. As Sima Qian (d. 86 BC), China's most celebrated historian, has noted, Qin Shihuangdi's burial chamber resembles a microcosm that encloses a palace with flowing mercury rivers and heavenly creatures.

Burial arrangements were restricted by the social standing of the deceased and guarded by the state governance. By the Tang dynasty, the burials constructed for the highest-ranking members of the society would include a group of thirteen large sancai pottery figures: two earth spirits, two lokapalas, two civil officials, two horses, two camels, and three grooms. The figures would have been placed at the entrance of the main burial chamber, guarding a wealth of luxury vessels and personal ornaments made of gold, silver, textile, and other precious materials.

In appearance, the Hartman camel recalls the Bactrian camel, which was imported into China from the areas of the Tarim Basin, eastern Turkestan and Mongolia. This species was highly regarded by the Tang emperors who established dedicated offices to oversee the imperial camel herds. Referred to as the 'ships of the desert', camels endured hot temperatures and were the essential vehicle of transport for merchants wishing to conduct trade with the oasis cities of Central Asia, such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Isfahan, along the trading routes of the Silk Road.

Vast riches poured into the Tang capital, Chang'an (present day Xi'an, Shaanxi province), from the Silk Road. Merchants came from far afield to acquire silk, bamboo and lacquer wares, and imported perfumes, horse and jewels. Different types of food, spices, and wines were also imported in Tang China, as well as exotic musical genres, fashions and literary styles. In the arts, many foreign shapes such as amphoras, bird-headed ewers, rhyton cups, and decorative motifs such as hunting scenes, floral medallions, garlands, swags, scrolling vines and Buddhist symbols, were imported from Central Asia and the Middle East. The recent excavation of thirty-seven tax receipts, recording approximately 600 payments, made in a year at a tax office outside Turfan (present-day Xinjiang Autonomous Region), testifies to the fast pace of trading activities during the Tang dynasty. Chang'an's two main markets, referred to as the Eastern and the Western Market, both filled with shops, eateries and tea houses, and additional trading centers were established in the proximity of its main gates.

The animated attitude of this remarkable camel is reminiscent of the running camels vividly depicted on the murals of Crown Prince Zhanghuai's tomb (d. 684), in Qianxian, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, painted in A.D. 706 and 711, illustrated in Out of China's Earth: Archaeological Discoveries in People's Republic of China, Beijing, 1981, pl. 258.

Compare also with the large Tang dynasty sancai camel, similarly modeled in mid-stride and with a saddle suspending mask-shaped sacks over a pleated cushion, from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by William Watson, The Arts of China to AD 900, Yale, 1995, p. 231, fig. 373. Another Tang dynasty sancai camel modeled in a similar posture as the present one, is in the collection of the British Museum, accession number 1936.1012.228, illustrated on the museum's website. Another magnificent camel is illustrated by Wan-go Weng and Yang Boda, The Palace Museum: Beijing, 1982, col. pl. 140.

For another massive-sized camel in this posture and equipped with a saddle bag, see Sotheby's New York, 19 March 1997, lot 202. A sancai-glazed camel bearing goods on its pannier, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3305; another was sold in Christie's New York, 20 September 2005, lot 191.

The results of thermoluminescence tests are consistent with the dating of this piece, Oxford Authentication certificate C123p17, 4 December 2023.

Lot 26. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A rare sancai-glazed molded phoenix-head ewer, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 27.8cm high. Estimate US$8,000 - US$12,000 (€7,200- €11,000). Sold for US$38,400. © Bonhams

The mythical bird with fierce large eyes and lion's mane holding a pearl in its beak, a pair of ears behind the cheeks and below the crown, the pear-shaped body with a medallion on each side depicting a monster mask encircled by four arrowhead-shaped pendants over 'fish roe' ground, the splayed foot with downward lappets, the loop handle connecting the back of the head to the body, covered overall with drizzles of green over ocher and creamy-white glaze, the base flat and unglazed revealing the fine white clay body.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 7 December 1993, lot 139
Sotheby's New York, 22-23 March 1999, lot 357.

Note: This beautifully molded ewer integrates traditional Chinese motifs, such as the phoenix, beast masks, and ruyi heads, into a vessel modeled on contemporaneous Sasanian metal wares. Chinese ceramicists produced these phoenix-head ewers with a wide range of glaze styles and variation in the motifs on the central panel. Even so, several ewers with with the exact design of the present example have survived, including an amber-and-green-glazed ewer from the Eumorfopoulos Collection, now in the British Museum, London (coll. no. 1936,1012.1); a green-glazed ewer sold at Sotheby's, New York, 13 September 2017, lot 75; and a sancai-glazed ewer, though lacking the stippled ground, is in the collection of the MOA Museum of Art, Atami, viewable on the Museum's website.

The result of the thermoluminescence test is consistent with the dating of this piece, Oxford Authentication sample no. C124g41, 16 July 2024.

Lot 27. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A painted pottery horse with separate rider and saddle, Early Tang Dynasty (618-907); 45cm high overall, wood stand. Estimate US$2,000- US$3,000 (€1,800 - €2,700). Sold for US$10,240. © Bonhams

The horse standing four-square on a rectangular base, the head held forward and modeled in high relief with slightly open mouth, flared nostrils and arched eyes below pricked ears, the mane swept to one side and lightly carved, the tail docked and ribbon-tied, the detachable female rider and saddle modeled in one separate piece, her left hand lowered to hold the reins while the right hand at her chest, with head tilts slightly upward to one side, covered overall a thin white slip over the grey pottery body with traces of ink details and pigments remain.

Provenance: The Ezekiel and Lillian Schloss Collection
Sotheby's New York, 3 December 1984, Important Chinese Ceramic Sculpture, Selected Masterpieces from the Schloss Collection, lot 26.

Published: Ezekiel Schloss, Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture from Han Through T'ang, Stamford, 1977. 2 volumes, pl. 50.

Note: A similarly modeled painted pottery horse with separate male rider unearthed from the Tang dynasty cemetery in Yanshi, Henan province, is illustrated in the excavation report, The Tang Tombs in Yanshi Xingyuan, Beijing, 2001, pl. 7-2. See also a similar horse and rider illustrated in the Rijksmuseum Bulletin , Amsterdam, 1966, p. 24, pl. 4, no. 1.

Lot 28. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A painted pottery red model of a cart and bull, Tang Dynasty (618-907); cart 31.8cm long, bull 21cm long. Estimate US$2,000- US$3,000 (€1,800 - €2,700). Sold for US$1,536. © Bonhams

The vehicle with arched canopy and square sides supported by two wheels, the front with slit openings while the back with a rectangular door off-center to one side and guarded by a low railing, a small square openings on each side above the wheels and behind the pair of straight 'arms' meant for affixing to the bull; the bull with short horns standing four-square, adorned with grided harness decorated with florets and pendants.

Lot 29. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A pair of blue and sancai-glazed foreign dignitaries, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 27.3 and 27cm high, wood stands. Estimate US$4,000- US$6,000 (€3,600 - €5,400). Sold for US$28,160. © Bonhams

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 May 1977, lot 2
British Rail Pension Fund
Sotheby's London, 12 December 1989, lot 55
Sotheby's New York. 23 March 1998, lot 564.

Exhibited: Dorchester International Ceramics Fair, London, June 1986, on loan.

Note: A blue and sancai-glazed figure of this type in the collection of the Shaanxi History Museum is illustrated by Cao Yin (ed.), Tang: Treasures from the Silk Road Capital, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2016, pp. 34-35, no. 114.

According to the Sotheby's New York 1998 catalog, the dating of this lot is consistent with the result of a thermoluminescence test, Oxford, test sample no. I66t26.

Lot 30. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A sancai-glazed offering dish with nine bowls, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 28cm diam. Estimate US$3,000- US$5,000 (€2,700 - €4,500). Sold for US$9,600. © Bonhams

The bowls each with rounded sides and lipped rim, supported on short foot and fused onto the large gallery-rimed dish, all supported by the short foot with slightly concave bottom, th3e translucent green glaze with drips of dark brown and green pooling at the center of the bowls, the dish with unglazed center and underside revealing the buff pottery body.

Note: Compare the sanca-glazed offering dish with eight bowls surrounding a stem dish, unearthed in 2010 from the tomb of Zhang Wenju in Luoyang, Henan province, illustrated in The Bulletin of the Chinese Ceramic Study Association of Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation, Vol. 7, Early White Porcelain, Tokyo, 2018, p. 124, no. 33a. Compare also the sancai-glazed offering dish and bowls discovered at the Tang dynasty cemetery at Yanshi, Henan province, illustrated in the excavation report The Tang Tombs in Yanshi Xingyuan, Beijing, 2001, col. pl. 3-4, with description and line drawings on pp. 58-59, pl. 53-3.

The results of the thermoluminescence test are consistent with the dating of this piece, Oxford Authentication sample no. C124h10, 14 August 2024.

Lot 31. Property from a California Private Collection. A pair of sancai-glazed pottery camels, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 63.8 and 64.5cm diam. Estimate US$10,000- US$15,000 (€9,000- €14,000). Sold for US$12,800.© Bonhams

Each finely modeled and standing four-square with head held high, the quadtrefoil saddle blanket with fitted openings draped over the humps, the tall slender legs supported on a small rectangular base, the glaze with attractive brown, ocher and green while the humps, mane and mouth picked out in white, the base partially glazed revealing the buff pottery body.

Note: The results of the thermoluminescence tests drawn from the ocher camel with splashed-green saddle blanket are consistent with the dating of the piece, Oxford Authentication certificate no. C199r28, 1 June 1999.

Lot 32. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. Two sancai-glazed pottery vessels, Tang Dynasty (618-907); censer 13.3cm high, jar 21cm high. Estimate US$2,500- US$3,500 (€2,300 - €3,200). Sold for US$9,600.© Bonhams

Similarly decorated with green, ocher and white over a cream-white slip, the tripod censer of compressed globular body supported on clawed feet, the short neck with everted rim; the jar of broad shoulder tapering down to a short, splayed foot with flat base, the short neck with three spur marks on the everted rim.

Lot 33. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. Five sancai-glazed artifacts, Tang-Liao Dynasty (618-1125); tiger 10.5cm across, the largest censer 11.4cm diam. Estimate US$1,500- US$2,500 (€1,400- €2,300). Sold for US$7,040.© Bonhams

Comprising a sancai-glazed tiger; a small green-glazed jar; an ocher-glazed 'marbled' bowl; and two sancai-glazed footed censers.

Lot 34. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. A sancai-glazed tripod offering dish with 'duck' medallion, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 28.6cm diam. Estimate US$2,000- US$3,000 (€1,800 - €2,700). Sold for US$10,240.© Bonhams

Finely molded with a central scene of a bird in flight amidst three scrolling clouds, encircled by stylized lotus flowers and lotus leaves, the shallow sides rising to a gently everted rim, all supported by three short cabriole feet, the rim and the medallion glazed in green over a white ground, with details highlighted in ocher-yellow, the exterior and the feet glazed in ocher, the underside unglazed revealing the buff pottery body.

Note: The results of the thermoluminescence test are consistent with the dating of this piece, Oxford Authentication sample no. C124h9, 14 August 2024.

Lot 35. A small 'beishoku'-type Longquan celadon fluted bowl, Southern Song-Yuan Dynasty (1127-1368); 9.5cm diam. Estimate US$3,000- US$5,000 (€2,700 - €4,500). Sold for US$3,840.© Bonhams

With deeply rounded sides balanced on a small foot, covered inside and out with a finely crackled glaze of 'golden husk' tones, the foot rim neatly pared and unglazed showing the gray porcelaneous body fired buff-orange; small kintsugi repairs to mouth and foot rim.

Note: The term 'beishoku' celadon ('rice husk colored' celadon) was coined by Japanese connoisseurs in the 20th century to describe the rare and unusual golden beige color glaze resulting from oxidization during firing. The best examples of 'beishoku' celadons are associated with Guan and Longquan wares, as they present a startling beauty unmatched by the standard celadon tones. The unique 'rice husk' color and the finely crackled glaze are highly appraised by the Japanese, whose culture has a long tradition of enjoying the accidental firing results in ceramic art. While in China traditionally the beige color glaze was considered an unsuccessful product, Chinese collectors today have also taken interest of this unique category.

Lot 36. A Longquan celadon-glazed bottle vase, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279); 14.1cm high. Estimate US$7,000- US$9,000 (€6,300- €8,100). Sold for US$7,040.© Bonhams

The pear-shaped body rising from a slightly tapered foot to a tall cylindrical neck and wide mouth with rounded, galleried rim, the glaze of attractive bluish-green color showing an even tone all over, the unglazed foot rim burnt orange-brown in the firing.

Note: A classic form of the Southern Song Longquan ware, the present example embodied the elegance, simplicity, and beauty of the Song aesthetic.
A Longquan bottle vase of this form discovered in 1991 at the Southern Song hoard at Jinyucun, Suining, Sichuan province, is illustrated in the excavation report Jinyucun Hoard of Southern Song Dynasty in Suining, Beijing, 2012, Vol. II, col. pl. 31.
Other similar examples can be found today in private and museum collections world-wide. Compare the Longquan bottle vase of this form in the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated by Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Volume One, London, 1994, p. 296, no. 555. Another Longquan vase of this form in the Musée Guimet, exhibited in Taipei and illustrated in the catalogue Terre de Neige, de Glace, et d'Ombre, no. 33.

Lot 37. A carved Ding 'lotus' dish, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234); 19cm diam. Estimate US$10,000- US$15,000 (€9,000- €14,000). Sold for US$8,960.© Bonhams

The elegant form of straight sides flaring from a shallow circular base supported by a short ring foot, the interior freely carved with stylized 'lotus' sprays, covered inside and out with a transparent glaze of creamy tone, the later-added gold rim mounted to the mouth and notched into six petal-lobes.

Note: The present example, with the 'folded' sides to shape this iconic form, is one of the small handfuls recorded. Compare the very similar Ding dish from the Hoyt Collection, illustrated by Hsien-Ch'i Tseng and Robert Paul Dart, The Charles B. Hoyt Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts: Boston, Volume II, Boston, 1972, no. 26. Another Ding dish of this form and decoration, from the Seligman Collection and now in the Collection of the British Museum, is illustrated on the museum's website, registration number 1973.0726.225.

Compare also the similar Ding dish in the collection of the Nezu Museum, illustrated in the catalog of special exhibition White Porcelain of Ding Yao, Tokyo, 1983, p. 70, no. 116, with description on p. 153, where the author cited another example in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Tsai Mei-fen, Decorated Porcelains of Dingzhou: White Ding wares from the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2013, pp. 88-89, no. II-42. One other Ding dish of this type and carved with a peony design, also in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated by Tsai in the same volume, op. cit., pp. 86-87.

Lot 38. Property of a London Collector. A very rare Yue celadon-glazed double-gourd vase, 10th century; 24.5cm high. Estimate US$8,000- US$12,000 (€7,200- €11,000). Sold for US$165,600.© Bonhams

The oval body with short neck supporting a bulb-shaped head, covered overall with a thin layer of matt olive-green glaze, an imprint of brown encrustation to one side of the shoulder, the gently recessed base partially glazed, revealing the light gray body burnt orange-brown from firing.

Provenance: Collection of E. T. Chow (1910-1980)
Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London, 16 December 1980, lot 210
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 2775, according to label
Private collection, London.

Published: Cécile and Michel Beurdeley, A Connoisseur's Guide to Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1974, p. 109, no. 68.

Note: By the Tang dynasty (618-907), the ceramic production had flourished to a new height, known as "Southern celadon and Northern white" 南青北白, represented by Yue celadon ware in the south and Xing white ware in the north. The soft monochrome green was named mi se 秘色, a glaze color favored for imperial patronage in Buddhist rituals.
It is extremely rare to see a Yue double-gourd vase. A small Yue double-gourd vase, not as elegant as the present example, in the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, is illustrated on the museum's website, described as Tang dynasty.
Other closely related forms also exist in the Tang-Northern Song period. Compare, for example, an incised Yue bottle with small bulb-shaped mouth and four loop handles unearthed from a Tang dynasty tomb of Zhang Hongqing, now in the collection of the Henan Provincial Museum, illustrated by Zhu Hongqiu in a research article on the museum's website. Compare also a Yue double-gourd shaped censer with perforated openings, in the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, illustrated on the museum's website, no. 26319. Another small double-gourd vase with a pair of loop handles at the waist and supported by a shallow ring foot, covered with a yellowish-green glaze, unearthed from the Tang dynasty cemetery at Yanshi, Henan province, is illustrated in the excavation report, The Tang Tombs in Yanshi Xingyuan, Beijing, 2001, col. pl. 16-2.

A Yue Celadon Double-Gourd Vase, Tang Dynasty, 2 3/8in (6cm) high, Zhejiang Provincial Museum.

Lot 39. Property from a Private Philadelphia Collection. A small 'marbled' saucer dish, Sng dynasty (960-1276); 8.6cm diam. Estimate US$5,000- US$8,000 (€4,500- €7,200). Sold for US$9,600. © Bonhams

The chocolate-brown and cream-color clays twisted and pressed to create a radiating 'feather' pattern, the dish with flat base and short rounded sides finished with a white rim.

Provenance: Paul Ruitenbeek Chinese Art, Amsterdam.

Lot 40. Property from The Estate of Mark S. Pratt (1928-2023), Washington DC. A Longquan celadon-glazed dish, Song dynasty (960-1276); 15.8cm diam. Estimate US$3,000- US$5,000 (€2,700- €4,500). Sold for US$3,584. © Bonhams

Smoothly molded with a circular recessed floor and shallow, curving well in contrast to the lotus petals in relief on the exterior extending outward from a wedged foot ring and recessed base, a lustrous blue-green glaze of fairly even hue covering all surfaces except the cinnamon-burnt foot pad.

Provenance: The Estate of Mark. S. Pratt (1928-2023), Washington D.C.

Lot 41. Property from an East Coast Collection. A Yaozhou celadon-glazed bowl, Five dynasties (907-960); 20cm diam. Estimate US$8,000- US$12,000 (€7,200- €11,000). Sold for US$9,600. © Bonhams

The interior decorated with a medallion of radiating flower petals enclosing by a band of freely incised scrolling vines, the everted rim with six shallow notches which corresponds to the gently lobed body, covered inside and out a translucent olive-green glaze over a cream color wash, the base glazed with traces of kiln support under the foot rim.

Note: Compare the Yaozhou shallow bowl with closely related design, also with a layer of wash underneath the celadon glaze, in the collection of the Yaozhou Ware Museum, illustrated in the catalog of the traveling exhibition The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1997, p. 101, no. 134, described as Five Dynasties, 10th century.

Lot 42. A very rare brown-splahed Qingbai 'Sheng player' ewer, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 18.7cm high. Estimate US$80,000- US$120,000 (€72,000- €110,000). Sold for US$318,000. © Bonhams

The domed vessel lively modeled and carved as a female musician wearing a floral crown and a flowing blouse with floral roundels over a long pleated skirt, her hands holding a wind instrument sheng which serves as the spout opposite to the handle, the facial features delicately depicted with large 'phoenix' eyes, her mouth blowing into the tube connecting to the sheng, her elongated ears with large earrings, covered inside and out a blue-tinted glaze with iron-spots to highlight the design, the flat base glazed with seven spur marks on the shallow foot rim.

Provenance: Purchased in Hong Kong, 1990, by repute.

Note: Figural water vessels are extremely rare, and the present example with the fine details and well-executed iron-spot glaze, is one of the best in its category. A very similar figural ewer highlighted in iron-brown unearthed in 1994 from a Song dynasty tomb dated to A.D. 1025 in Susong county near Anqing, Anhui province, is illustrated by Zhang (ed.), Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China, Vol. 8, Anhui, Beijing, 2008, no. 98.

Compare the very similar figural ewer in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, formerly in the collection of Samuel T. Peters and illustrated by Trubner in the catalog of exhibition The Arts of the Tang Dynasty, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1957, pp. 102-103, no. 271; and illustrated again by Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, London, 1984, p. 121, pl. 92.

Ewer in the form of a Sheng Player, China, Liao dynasty (916-1125), 421.2 cm (8 3/8 in.) high. The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1953.248.

Compare also the Qingbai 'sheng player' also with iron-brown decoration, from J.J. Lally & Co. and sold at Christie's New York, 23 March 2023, lot 876.

 

A brown-splashed qingbai `sheng player’ ewer, Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127); 19.7 cm high, cloth box, from J.J. Lally & Co. Sold for USD 693,000 at Christie's New York, 23 March 2023, lot 876. © Christie's Images Ltd 2022.

Lot 43. A molded Yaozhou celadon-glazed petal-lobed dish, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 12cm diam. Estimate US$8,000- US$12,000 (€7,200- €11,000). Sold for US$25,600. © Bonhams

Finely decorated with a flowering branch at the well surrounded by fifteen lappets rising half-way to the tip of each petal, covered inside and out an olive-green glaze except the center of the base, revealing the neatly pared inset foot and gray body burnt iron-rust in areas.

Provenance: Penglai Shanfang Collection, Tainan, Taiwan
Connecticut Private Collection.

Note: It is rare to see Yaozhou celadon dish of this form and only a small handful have been recorded. Compare the shard of a similar dish, also with a flat base, unearthed in 1981 at the Song dynasty Yaozhou kiln sites in Tongchuan, Huangpu, Shaanxi province, now in the collection of the Yaozhou Ware Museum, illustrated in the catalog of the traveling exhibition, The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1997, p. 115, no. 164. Compare also two molded dishes with partially glazed flat base and inset foot, one with lotus pattern discovered in 1988 from a hoard in Liulin, Yao county, now in the collection of the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, and the other dish with similar floral pattern from a Japanese private collection, both illustrated in the same catalog for the traveling exhibition, op. cit., p. 54, nos. 69 and 70.

A Yaozhou celadon dish of this rare shape and design in the collection of the British Museum is illustrated by Kerr, Yaozhou Wares from Museums and Art Institutes Around the World, including Yaozhou Tribute Wares, Hong Kong, 2021, p. 234, no. 340; also on the museum's website, accession number 2001,0522.1.

Two other Yaozhou celadon dishes of this form and similarly decorated, one in the Meiyintang Collection, the other in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, were also illustrated by Kerr, op. cit., p. 234, nos. 338 and 339.

Lot 44. A carved Yaozhou celadon-glazed 'lotus' bowl, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 18.9cm diam. Estimate US$6,000- US$8,000 (€,400- €7,200). Unsold. © Bonhams

Of deep spherical shape with lipped rim, decorated with a single spray of lotus blossom and lotus leaf within a lozenge cartouche, the scrolling foliage encircled within a line border, covered inside and out a translucent olive-green glaze pooling in the recessed areas in darker tones, all supported by a short, neatly pared ring foot, the base unglazed showing kiln dust and grits, the gray stoneware body fired orange-brown.

Provenance: Vallin Galleries, Wilton, CT
Sotheby's New York, 17 March 2021, lot 231.

Note: Compare the very similar carved Yaozhou 'lotus' bowl in the collection of the Hunan Museum, illustrated by Kerr, Yaozhou Wares from Museums and Art Institutes Around the World, including Yaozhou Tribute Wares, Hong Kong, 2021, p. 175, no. 237.

Lot 45. A molded Yaozhou celadon-glazed 'fish' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1279); 11.6cm diam. Estimate US$6,000- US$8,000 (€,400- €7,200). Sold for US$9,600. © Bonhams

Thinly potted with flaring sides and everted rim supported by a short straight foot, decorated with four fish encircling a conch shell amidst rippling waves, the exterior with carved radiating lines, covered inside and out a translucent olive-green glaze pooling to darker tones in the recess, the neatly pared foot unglazed showing light-gray stoneware body fired to buff tones.

Provenance: From an Asian Private Collection
Sotheby's New York, 23 March 2022, lot 401.

Note: A very similar molded Yaozhou 'fish' bowl in the collection of the Durham University Museum is illustrated by Kerr, Yaozhou Wares from Museums and Art Institutes Around the World, including Yaozhou Tribute Wares, Hong Kong, 2021, p. 155, no. 209.

Lot 46. Property from the Simone and Alan Hartman Collection. An irridescent-green glazed flask and an ocher-glazed vase, Liao Dynasty (907-1125); flask 28cm high, vase 35.6cm high. Estimate US$2,000- US$3,000 (€1,800 - €2,700). Sold for US$1,024. © Bonhams

The flask in the form of a saddle bag, molded with a dragon relief on either side picked out in ocher glaze, the top with perforated flanges decorated with monkeys, the recessed base partially glazed revealing the red pottery body; the bottle vase with waisted neck and trumpet mouth, the lower vase and indented base unglazed showing a layer of white slip and red pottery body.

Bonhams. Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 16 September 2024