Lot 903. Property from the Dawentang Collection. A very rare Yue celadon ‘Zhang Qian on a raft’ ewer and cover, Five dynasties-Early Northern Song dynasty, 10th century; 20.1 cm high. Price realised HKD 5,080,000 (Estimate HKD 2,500,000 – HKD 5,000,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 702

Literature: Chinese Ceramics from the Dawentang Collection, Vol. I, Hong Kong, 2019, pp. 68-71, no.2

Zhongguo Minjian Shoucang Taoci Daxi – Xianggang Aomen Taiwan, Hebei, 2019, pp. 44-45

Peter Y.K. Lam, Featuring Fifty Favourite Objects, Arts of Asia, Hong Kong, January- February 2020, p. 81

Exhibited: Hong Kong Museum of Art, Honouring Tradition and Heritage: Min Chiu Society at Sixty, Hong Kong, 18 December 2020 – 28 April 2021, cat. no. 14

Note : The ewer is well-proportioned with a globular body supported on a short foot, carved on each side depicting Zhang Qian seated on a raft, his belongings suspended from a gnarled branch above his head, floating down a fast-flowing river. The cover is carved with ruyi-form clouds below a lotus bud finial, covered overall with a smooth, clear greyish-green glaze.

The story of an immortal sailing on a raft was first recorded in the Jin dynasty classic Bowu Zhi. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the tale of Zhang Qian’s raft voyage spread widely, reflecting the literati’s ideal of transcending the mundane world. The present ewer stands as a perfect example of such ideals being integrated in porcelain creation.

Compared with ewers of the Tang dynasty, those of the Five Dynasties period exhibit more intricate construction; their spouts are slender and elongated, making them more practical for use. A nearly identical Northern Song ‘Zhang Qian sailing on a raft’ Yue ewer, excavated in Wenzhou in 2005 and housed in the Wenzhou Museum, is illustrated in Focus on the Treasures-Wu’s Culture Heritage Reimagined, Beijing, 2025, pp.6-19. Compare to another Northern Song dynasty Yue ewer, also with Immortals design, but of slightly smaller size, from the Capital Museum, Beijing, see Zhongguo Meishu Quanji: Taoci, Vol.2, Shanghai, 1988, no.126. Compare also a similar Yue ewer carved with peony scrolls in the Umezawa Gallery, Japan, illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, p.117, no.336; and a Five dynasties Yue ewer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, without a cover, collection number: gu 00142989.

Christie's. Pearls of The Orient - Treasures from Hong Kong Private Collectors, Hong Kong, 40 April 2026