A very rare pale-green-glazed jar, Zhadou;. Five dynasties period, 10th century

The compressed globular body surmounted by a widely flared conical mouth surrounding a small central opening, covered with a finely crackled glaze of pale green color that continues over the shallow circular foot ring onto the unglazed base which shows the fine white body, some small areas of glaze now degraded to a silvery iridescence - 5 7/16 in. (14.5 cm.) diam., box  - Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000

Provenance : Acquired in Hong Kong in the 1990s.

Notes : During the Tang dynasty zhadou or 'leys' jars were made in various materials, as represented by three zhadou of comparable size illustrated by W. Willetts, Foundations of Chinese Art, London, 1965, pp. 286-7, nos. 181-3. They include a silver example in the Kempe Collection (no. 181), a blackish-brown-glazed example bearing a painted date corresponding to AD 841 in the Ingram Collection, and a Xingyao porcelain example in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Although each is somewhat different in shape, each has an elegant profile, as does the current example which is enhanced by its rare pale green glaze.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 17 September 2008. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. www.christies.com