Lot 8056. A pale blue Junyao 'lotus bud' waterpot and cover, Jin dynasty;  4 3/4in (12cm) high. Estimate US$ 25,000 - 35,000 (€22,000 - 31,000). Sold for US$ 27,500 (€ 22,335). Photo: Bonhams.

Finely potted with a bulbous body tapering towards the circular mouth, the interior and exterior glazed with a fine grey-blue tinge Jun glaze thinning to a chestnut tone at the extremities and with a few attractive brown and blue splashes, the glaze spreading towards the splayed foot, the cover of solid cylindrical form beneath the rounded rim and domed finial, the glaze pooling to a pale blue in the recesses within the rim and a greyish brown at the edges.

Notes: The result of thermoluminescence test 2055NK14 dated 30 November 2001, C&C Authentication Laboratory Limited, Hong Kong, is consistent with the dating of this lot. 

Together with Ding, Guan, Ge and Ru wares, Jun is on of the five famous wares of the Song dynasty; its use continued into the Jin and Yuan dyansties and it was deeply admired by subsequent generations of Chinese scholars and collectors. The simple rounded forms of Jun wares complement the depth and complexity of the opalescent glaze. 

It is very rare to find an example of a waterpot still with its cover; however a related Jun bowl with purple splashes also retaining its cover and dated to the Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century, is illustrated by G. Eskenazi, A Dealer's Hand: The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, p.287, pl.283. 

Other examples of Jun waterpots without covers include one previously in the collection of Robert Chang sold at Sotheby's London, 12 May 2010, lot 145; another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, The Sound of Jade and the Shadow of a Chrysanthemum, sale 3323, 28 May 2014, lot 3220 and another also sold at Christie's Hong Kong, sale 2963, 28 November 2012, lot 2277.

Bonhams. CHINESE PAINTINGS AND WORKS OF ART, 14 Sep 2015 10:00 EDT , NEW YORK