Lot 839. A rare Qingbai-type model of a granary and cover, China, Southern Song-Yuan Dynasty, 12th-13th century; 9 ¾ in. (24.8 cm.) high. Estimate $6,000 - $8,000. Price Realized $37,500. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The vessel heavily potted in the shape of a circular granary raised on a plinth bisected on one side by stairs rising to a doorway fitted with a separate vertically sliding door, the separate cover modeled as a tiled roof surmounted by a large bud finial, covered in a grayish-blue glaze, the stairs and door left in the biscuit, box

Provenance: The Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1987.

Note: In ancient China the idea of a full granary carried with it the associations of prosperity and security. It is not surprising therefore to find that, from early times, ceramic models of granaries were made to accompany the deceased into the afterworld. In the Han dynasty, for example, unglazed and lead-glazed earthenware granaries were often placed in tombs. These Han dynasty models were, on the whole, relatively simple constructions, compared to the later Song-Yuan dynasty examples, such as the present model. 

Compare the slightly larger qingbai granary from the Falk Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 20 September 2001, lot 102, which is very similar, but has an inscribed plaque above the doorway and numerically inscribed panels on the sliding door. See, also, a somewhat simpler qingbai granary illustrated by Chen Baiquan in 'The Development of Song Dynasty Qingbai Wares from Jingdezhen', The Porcelains of Jingdezhen - Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No. 16, R. Scott (ed.), Percival David Foundation, London, 1993, p. 19, pl. 10, which shares with both the Falk example and the present example the large, bud-shaped roof finial, as well as similar roof ridges and tiling details. 

Christie's. THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT HATFIELD ELLSWORTH PART IV - CHINESE WORKS OF ART: METALWORK, SCULPTURE AND EARLY CERAMICS, 20 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.