Lot 838. A very rare small marbled jar and cover, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); 9.8 cm high, cloth box. Estimate USD 40,000 – USD 60,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: C. T. Loo & Co., New York, December 1949.

Pauline B. (1910-2000) and Myron S. Falk (1906-1992) Collection, no. 31.

The Falk Collection I: Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works and Works of Art; Christie's New York, 16 October 2001, lot 19.

Literature: Los Angeles County Museum, Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period through Ch'ien Lung, Los Angeles, 1952, p. 63, no. 83.

Myron S. Falk, Neolithic to Ming, Chinese Objects - The Myron S. Falk Collection, Hartford, Connecticut, 1957, p. 8, no. 19.

Oriental Ceramic Society, Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Ceramic Art of China, London, 1971, no. 48.

Exhibited: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum, Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period through Ch'ien Lung, 1952, no. 83.

Northampton, Massachusetts, Smith College Museum of Art, Neolithic to Ming, Chinese Objects - The Myron S. Falk Collection, 1957, no. 19.

London, Oriental Ceramic Society, The Ceramic Art of China, 1971, no. 48.

Note : Marbling, known as jiao tai in Chinese, became a popular decorative technique on Tang dynasty ceramics and was applied to a variety of forms, including jars, cups, bowls, dishes, and censers. Sections of marbled clay were also inlaid into larger objects, such as pillows, to create a striking decorative effect. The popularity of marbled wares among the Tang aristocracy is demonstrated by the discovery of a small number of horses made from marbled clay among the burial goods of Princess Yongtai, who received a grand reinterment in AD 706.

The marbled appearance could be achieved either by combining clays of different colors during the formation of the vessel or by applying two contrasting slips to its surface. In both cases, the finished piece was subsequently covered with a transparent glaze. The most common glazes were amber, as seen on the present covered jar, as well as green and colorless glazes. Examination of the current jar and cover clearly shows that it was made by combining contrasting clays, and further reveals that the upper and lower halves were constructed separately before being luted together. This process required considerable technical skill on the part of the potter and was executed with notable success on the current jar. The effect is less refined on a smaller, similarly glazed jar lacking a cover, excavated at Xianyang, Shaanxi province, in 1952. The tomb from which the Xianyang jar was recovered has been dated to AD 714. The jar, now in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, is illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan – Taoci juan, 1993, p. 247, no. 246. Another larger marbled jar with amber glaze, also lacking a cover, is illustrated by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. I, 1994, no. 230.

A marbled bowl with amber glaze in the Tokyo National Museum is illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 11, Sui Tang, Tokyo, pp. 101–2, no. 79. The popularity of Tang dynasty marbled wares in Japan is further evidenced by the excavation of shards from a Chinese 8th-century marbled pillow at the site of Daian-ji Temple in Nara, illustrated in the same volume, p. 252, no. 237. Such marbled pillows were produced at a number of kiln sites in northern China, including the Gongxian kilns in Henan province. A small ring-handled cup with similar marbling and amber glaze, formerly in the Anders Hellström Collection and now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, no. 25.

Lot 837. A rare carved Yaozhou celadon foliate jar, Northern Song dynasty (AD 960-1127); 13.5 cm diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 18,000 – USD 25,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: Peter Lai Antiques Ltd, Hong Kong, 6 June 1992.

Note : This distinctive Yaozhou vessel is a slightly compressed version of a form that in China is usually called a zun, or wine jar. At the Yaozhou kilns it is possible that the form has a predecessor in a similar type of jar, but without an everted rim, that has been found among the Five Dynasty vessels at the Huangbaozhen kiln site. See Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka (eds.), The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, Tokyo, 1997, p. 101, no. 133. Several jars similar to the current vessel, with curled lip and carved decoration, but with thin raised lines of slip inside the mouth, rather than lines of darker olive glaze as seen in the mouth of the current jar, have been found in the Song strata at the Yaozhou kiln at Huangbaozhen. See Shaanxi Tongchuan Yaozhou yao, Beijing, 1965, p. 23, fig. 14, no. 1, and Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute and Museum of Yaozhou Ware, Songdai Yaozhou Yaozhi, Beijing, 1998, p. 589. Further Yaozhou jars of the same shape and decoration include the jar in the Robert Barron Collection illustrated by L. Rotondo-McCord in the catalogue for the exhibition, Heaven and Earth Seen Within, New Orleans Museum of Art, 2000, no. 10, and the jar illustrated by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, vol. 1, p. 231, no. 412. Related Yaozhou jars of taller, less compressed form and raised on a taller splayed foot, include the jar in The Metropolitan Museum of Art illustrated by S. Valenstein, Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, rev. ed. 1989, p. 82, no. 76, and the jar sold in The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics – The Linyushanren Collection, Part I; Christie’s Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 2803.

Lot 839. A very rare and superb carved Ding 'Daylily' basin, Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127); 24.4 cm diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 200,000 – USD 300,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Literature: Ching Wan Society, Ching Wan Society Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: Works of Art, Taipei, 2012, p. 92, no. 14.

Exhibited: Taipei, National Museum of History, Ching Wan Society Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition, 2012, no. 14.

Note: This superb basin is a classic example of Song-dynasty Ding ware, which has been celebrated by literati and officials since its inception for its refined forms and luminous glazes. Its prestige is reflected in the writings of the renowned Song scholar Su Shi (1037–1101), who praised Ding porcelains in his poem Shiyuan Jiancha (Tea Brewing in the Examination Hall). Interestingly, in 1093—some two decades after composing the poem—Su Shi was appointed Governor of Dingzhou, the region where the celebrated Ding kilns were located. His admiration for these wares helped solidify their status among later connoisseurs, including the Jin-dynasty scholar Liu Qi (1203–1259), who wrote: “Dingzhou hua ci’ou, yanse tianxia bai” (Decorated porcelain bowls from Dingzhou possess the finest white color under Heaven).

The present basin is particularly distinguished by its elegant form, fluidly carved decoration, and lustrous glaze of warm, even ivory tone. A comparable Ding basin of similar form, with a recessed base and carved daylily design on the interior, but of smaller size (18.7 cm. diam.) and decorated on the exterior with six shallow notches forming subtle lobes, is preserved in the Tokyo National Museum and illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World’s Great Collections, vol. 1, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1982, col. pl. 9. Another related Ding ‘daylily’ basin of smaller size (20.6 cm.) and featuring lobed notches on the exterior, was included in The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics – The Linyushanren Collection, Part I; Christie’s Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 2815.

Further comparisons may be drawn with Ding basins carved on the interior with daylilies and decorated on the exterior with both additional daylily motifs and six lobed notches. Among these is a basin of comparable size (24.5 cm diam.), designated an Important Cultural Property and now housed in The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka. It is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Song Ceramics, Tokyo, 1999, p. 67, no. 30. Another closely related example, of slightly larger size (26 cm. diam.), is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Selection of Ding Ware: The Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2012, pp. 136–37, no. 52.

Lot 840. A molded Yaozhou celadon 'Floral scroll' bowl, Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127), 19.6 cm diam., cloth box. Estimate USD 18,000 – USD 25,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 31 March 1992, lot 512.

Note : Yaozhou bowls of this classic form and flower scroll pattern can be found in museum collections worldwide and include the example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 129, no. 115; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Song Yuan ciqi tezhan mulu (Special Exhibition of Sung and Yuan Porcelains), Taipei, 1971, no. 44; another in the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrated by Y. Mino and K. Tsiang in Ice and Green Clouds: Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis, 1986, no. 62; one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by S. Valenstein in A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, Rev. Ed., New York, 1989, no. 74; one in The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston illustrated by J. Fontein and Wu Tung, World’s Great Collections: Oriental Ceramics, Vol. 10, Tokyo, 1980, no. 156; and one in the Princeton Art Museum illustrated by Z. Kwok, The Eternal Feast: Banqueting in Chinese Art from the 10th to 14th Century, Princeton, 2019, p. 167, no. 38.

A shard with molded decoration of this pattern discovered at the Yaozhou kiln site in Huangpu, Shaanxi province is illustrated in the excavation report, Song dai Yaozhou yao zhi (The Yaozhou Kiln Site of the Song Period), Beijing, 1998, in a pair of line drawings on p. 107, pl. 60-2.

Lot 841. A rare Cizhou sgraffiato pear-shaped vase, yuhuchunping, Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127); 33 cm high, cloth box. Estimate USD 30,000 – USD 50,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: Peter Lai Antiques, Hong Kong, 17 October 1992.

Note: While potters at the Ding, Yaozhou, Ru, and other Song kilns took pride in finishing their wares with subtly hued monochrome glazes, typically applied over incised, carved, or molded decoration, those at the Cizhou kilns explored new techniques of decoration that resulted in a new aesthetic vision, as perfectly demonstrated by this vase with its bold designs and contrasting colors. This new vision, based on decorative effects that rely on contrasting colors, would lay the aesthetic foundations for the development of blue-and-white porcelain in the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368).

Cizhou yuhuchunping decorated in the sgraffiato technique with designs carved through a white slip rather than the more typical dark brown slip are rare. A yuchunping with the same color scheme, decorated with a broad floral-scroll band framed by narrower key-fret and leafy-scroll borders, was sold in Masterpieces of Cizhou Ware: The Linyushanren Collection, Part IV; Christie’s New York, 13 September 2018, lot 826.

The present vase is distinguished not only by its rare color palette but also by the fluidity of its elegant carved decoration. The principal register is populated by lotus blossoms, leaves, and other flowering plants. In traditional Chinese culture the lotus carries rich auspicious associations: it is linked to Buddhism and symbolizes purity, beauty, and harmony. Its various names give rise to rebuses wishing for the continual arrival of illustrious sons, while the visible emergence of the seedpod as the flower opens has long been interpreted as an auspicious sign of fertility and progeny. Interspersed among the lotus blossoms is the arrowhead plant (sagittaria sagittifolia), a symbol of generosity and abundance, particularly in times of scarcity. Encircling the shoulder above is a band of flowering plum. As the first tree to bloom in the New Year, the plum (prunus mume) symbolizes perseverance, purity, and the advent of spring. Its ability to flower from seemingly aged and weathered branches further associates it with vitality and longevity. The Chinese word for plum, mei, is homophonous with the word for eyebrows, and long eyebrows are traditionally regarded as a sign of long life. The plum blossom’s five petals also evoke the Five Blessings: longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a peaceful death.

The result of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Yeung Shui Sang Laboratory thermoluminescence test dated 6 April 1992, serial number 0553, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Lot 842. An exceptionally rare Ding 'Qilin' pillow, Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127); 26.7 cm long, cloth box. Estimate USD 80,000 – USD 120,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: Chang Foundation Collection, Taipei, by 1990.

Literature: Chang Foundation, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pp. 92-3,

Note: Ding pillows carved with zoomorphic decoration are exceptionally rare, the vast majority of known examples being decorated with floral motifs. For a related two-color Ding pillow carved with a lotus design in the Palace Museum, Beijing, inscribed and dated to the eighth year of the Dading reign (1168), see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pp. 98–9, no. 89. Another two-color Ding pillow of comparable form decorated with floral motifs, also in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Dingci yaji: Gugong bowuyuan zhencang ji chutu Dingyao ciqi huicui (Selection of Ding Ware: The Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation), Beijing, 2012, no. 100.

Further comparable carved Ding pillows include an example in the Dingzhou Museum, Hebei Province, illustrated in Mu in Dingci yishu (The Art of Ding Porcelain), Shijiazhuang, 2002, p. 148, no. 198. Related two-color Ding pillows are also preserved in major international collections, including one in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrated by B. Gray in Sung Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1984, p. 72, no. 52, and another published in Chinese Ceramic Pillows from the Yeung Wing Tak Collection, Osaka, 1984, p. 34, no. 6.no. 27.

Christie's. Ritual, Cosmos, and Imperial Splendor: Important Chinese Art from a Private North American Collection, New York, 17 September 2026