Lot 1636. A carved 'peony' Yaozhou celadon bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 19 cm diam., box. Price realised HKD 75,600 (Estimate HKD 60,000 – HKD 80,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

Lot 1638. Two moulded inscribed Yaozhou celadon conical bowls, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 9.5 cm; 12.5 cm diam., boxes. Price realised HKD 126,000 (Estimate HKD 50,000 – HKD 80,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

The first bowl is moulded with a single spray of peony, the blossom upholding a plaque inscribed with the characters Da guan, ‘flourishing’, covered with a glaze of deep greyisholive tone; the other bowl is moulded with a phoenix grasping in its beak a large lotus spray enclosing a cartouche inscribed with the characters Gao Jia, ‘Gao Family’, applied with a glaze of deep sea-green tone.

Provenance: Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 4 April 2017, lot 103.

Lot 1639. Property from the Collection of the Late Karen Frances Beagle. A russet ‘oil spot’ black-glazed bowl and a russet-splashed black-glazed bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 15.2 and 15 cm diam., boxes. Price realised HKD 40,320 (Estimate HKD 30,000 – HKD 50,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

Provenance: Karen Beagle (1960-2021), Hong Kong.

Note: Born in Patna, in the ancient northern Indian state of Bihar, Karen Beagle left for England in 1983 where she eventually opened an antique gallery in London’s Notting Hill with her husband Allan. Karen later honed in her skills as a specialist in Buddhist art from India, Tibet and China. Surprising many of her friends, Karen moved to Hong Kong in 2010 where she bought an old village house set on a foot hill above a private stretch of beach on the tranquil island of Peng Chau. Aside from her career in the antique world, Karen spent much of her time and energy taming the over-growth of her rambling garden and successfully turned it into neat terraces where her numerous guests enjoyed idling away the early evening hours watching the sunset over her veranda, and discussed exciting plans of impending visits to cultural sites in Asia. Around a decade ago, Karen decided to collect early ceramics as this was very different to her specialist area of Buddhist art. The group of eighteen lots represented here are some of her favourite pieces for which she appreciated the simplicity of the glazes and their elegant forms.

Lot 1640. Property from the Collection of the Late Karen Frances Beagle. A group of five miniature glazed stonewares and porcelain vessels, Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); a Jun-type purple-splashed blue-glazed bubble cup; and a white jade goose-head form spoon; Bubble cup: 8.9 cm diam., boxes. Price realised HKD 176,400 (Estimate HKD 40,000 – HKD 60,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

Provenance: Karen Beagle (1960-2021), Hong Kong.
Bubble cup: Blitz Oriental Art, Amsterdam, according to label

Lot 1643. A purple-splashed Jun dish, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 17.5 cm diam., box. Price realised HKD 239,400 (Estimate HKD 100,000 – HKD 200,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

The thickly potted dish with a flat everted rim is evenly covered with a milky sky-blue glaze thinning to mushroom at the rims and on the ring foot, accentuated with purple splashes particularly to the top. The underside has three small spur marks exposing the fine grey body.

Provenance: A Hong Kong private collection formed in the late 1970s to early 1990s

Lot 1642. A small Jun bowl, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368); 11 cm diam., box Price realised HKD 50,400 (Estimate HKD 40,000 – HKD 60,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

Lot 1641. A purple-splashed Jun bowl, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 18.7 cm diam. Price realised HKD 69,300 (Estimate HKD 60,000 – HKD 80,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

Lot 1644. A large incised and moulded Longquan celadon 'floral' barbed-rim dish, Ming dynasty, 15th century; .47 cm diam. Price realised HKD 27,720 (Estimate HKD 30,000 – HKD 50,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024.

Note: The dish is potted with fluted sides rising from a short foot ring to a lobed rim. The interior is moulded with floral scrolls. The dish is covered overall with a celadon glaze of soft sea-green tone. An unglazed ring on the base burnt orange in the firing.

Christie's. Pavilion Online, Hong Kong, 12 December 2024