Lot 3008. A rare Longquan celadon pear-shaped vase, Yuan dynasty, 14th century, 10 in. (25.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 350,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The pear-shaped body supported on a sturdy footring and surmounted by a trumpet neck flanked by a pair of mythical beast head handles suspending large fixed rings, the neck, shoulder and mid-section encircled by raised bands, covered overall with an even rich olive green glaze, Japanese double wood boxes.

Provenance: Acquired in Kyoto in the 1920s and thence by direct descent to the present owner

The Property of a Japanese Private Collector

Note: Vases of this form without added decorative features are quite rare. Two undecorated vases with very similar flattened ribbed handles dated to the 13th/14th century are in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, London, 1986, pp. 220-221, nos. 200 and 201. Another similarly shaped undecorated Yuan Longquan vase was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3821.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 November 2011, Hong Kong