Lot 2208. A celadon glazed recumbent ram, Eastern Jin dynasty, 4th century. Sold for US$ 1,500 (€1,376). Photo Bonhams.

Its body incised with wing-like forms above the four legs turned under, its head incised with the characterwang and a circular hole made in front of the curving horns, the translucent olive green glaze unevenly applied and displaying some opalescent bluish-white patches, the unglazed base burnt dark cinnamon brown (glaze degraded). 8 1/4in (21cm) long

Notes: For a similar opalescent bluish white deposit in a the celadon glaze of a fourth century chicken-headed ewer in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, see He Li,Chinese Ceramics: a New Comprehensive Survey, 1996, no. 103, pp. 82 and 116.

A similar ram of slightly smaller size (14.5cm long) is in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, listed as a proto-Yue candlestick, Eastern Jin Dynasty, early-mid 4th century, ROM#992.131.1 - Dr. Herman Herzog Levy Fund. See also the ram with brown wash details excavated in 1980 at the Jianbi Brick and Tile Factory, Dantu County, Zhenjiang City, published in Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji, vol. 7: Jiangsu Shanghai, 2008, no. 64, p. 53 (as early Yue ware, Eastern Jin dynasty, 16cm long).

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS, 11 Dec 2015 10:00 PST, SAN FRANCISCO