Lot 89. A Xing green splash-glazed ewer and a 'phoenix' cover, Tang dynasty (618-907); 16 3/4 in. (42 cm.) high overall. Estimate HK$800,000 – HK$1,200,000 ($103,625 - $155,437). Price realised HKD 1,420,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The ewer has an ovoid-shaped body with a raised central ridge, supported on a tall spreading foot with a flattened knob in between, the long neck with dish-shaped mouth is applied with a double-strand handle, the cover is moulded as a phoenix's head with incised plumage, all splashed with green glaze on a white slip ground, box

Provenance: Collection of Masuda Takashi (1848-1938), a renowned Japanese entrepreneur, acquired during the late Meiji to early Showa period
A Japanese private collection, acquired in the 1990s

Note: A green splash-glazed ewer of similar form but with a cover in the form of a dragon’s head was found in a Tang dynasty cargo recovered from the Java Sea southeast of Singapore in 1998 and is now housed in the Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, illustrated and discussed by Rosemary Scott,‘A Remarkable Tang Dynasty Cargo’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 67, 2002-2003, pp. 13-26. According to the Asian Civilizations Museum, this cargo can be dated to around AD 830s.

Christie's. THE PAVILION SALE - CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 5 April 2016, Hong Kong