Lot 393. A Rare And Large 'Longquan' Celadon 'Cong' Vase, 13th-14th Century. 38.7cm., 15 1/4 in. Estimate 80,000—120,000 GBP. Lot Sold 157,250 GBP. Photo courtesy Sotheby's 2008

of archaic jade form, the square body rising from a short straight circular foot to a flat shoulder and short tapering mouth, modelled to each corner with raised horizontal bands within a raised rectangular panel, covered overall with a thick lustrous sea-green glaze. 

Provenance: T.T. Tsui Collection.

Literature and references: Splendour of Ancient Chinese Art. Selections from the Collections of T.T. Tsui Galleries of Chinese Art Worldwide, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 37.

Note: Made in the form and colour of an archaic jade cong, the present piece is an excellent example of one of the most characteristic types of Song ceramics and reflects the Southern Song's fascination with antiquity. The end of the Tang dynasty witnessed the rise of neo-Confucianism which gained strength during the Song, bringing with it the inclination to look inwards and to revere the past. Jade cong, which are shaped as open tubes rather than containers, are known particularly from the Neolithic Liangzhu culture. A fine example from the Shanghai museum was included in the exhibition Gems of Liangzhu Culture, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong, 1992, cat. no. 57.

The present cong is remarkable for its impressive size; for a slightly larger example, see one illustrated in Anthony du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1984, p. 94, no. 2, sold at Christie's London, 14^th July 1980, lot 310, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 5^th November 1996, lot 605; another with a crackled glaze, included in the exhibition Ice and Green Clouds, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1986, cat. no. 74; and a third example illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 466.

Smaller Longquan celadon cong vases can be seen in famous collections throughout the world; such as one in the Eumorfopoulos collection, illustrated in John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, pl. 124; an example from the Oppenheim collection in the British Museum, is published in Jessica Rawson (ed.), The British Museum Book of Chinese Art, London, 1992, pl. 8 (left); another in the Shanghai Museum, is included in Longquan ciqi, Beijing, 1966, pl. 15; and a fourth example is included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Sung Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum. Lung-ch'uan Ware, Ko Ware and Other Wares, Taipei, 1974, pls 8 and 9. Compare also an example from the Toguri collection sold in these rooms, 9^th June 2004, lot 53; and another, 13^th July 2005, lot 147.

The deep celadon glaze was a colour highly prized in Japan under the term 'kinuta celadon', after mallet (kinuta) shaped vases. Celadon wares of this type come from an extensive region in southern Zhejiang province, covering Longquan as well as many neighbouring counties. The kilns, which copied 'Yue' and 'Yaozhou' wares in the Northern Song period, found their own style by the Southern Song and produced pieces of this high-quality glaze.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 05 Nov 08. London