Lot 842. A Yaozhou persimmon-glazed conical bowl, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century; 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) diam., silk pouch and cover, Japanese wood box. Estimate USD 60,000 – USD 80,000. Unsold. © Christie's 2023

The conical bowl is covered overall with a rich persimmon-brown glaze that ends neatly above the foot.

Provenance: George de Menasce (1891-1967) Collection, London, no. 258.
Spink & Son, London.
Mayuyama & Co., Tokyo.
Private Japanese collection.
Song: A Japanese Collection; Sotheby's London, 11 May 2011, lot 9.
Roger Weston (b. 1943) Collection, Chicago.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4892.

Literature: Oriental Ceramic Society, Sung Dynasty Wares: Chun and Brown Glazes, London, 1952, no. 126.
Mostra d'Arte Cinese (Exhibition of Chinese Art), Venice, 1954, no. 553.
The George de Menasce Collection, part II, Spink & Son, London, 1972, no. 247.
Koyama Fujio, Toji taikei (Outlines of Ceramics), Vol. 38: Temmoku, Tokyo, 1974, pls. 26-27.
Ryusen shuho (Mayuyama, Seventy Years), Vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, p. 209, pl. 626.

Exhibited: London, Sung Dynasty Wares: Chun and Brown Glazes, Oriental Ceramic Society, 1-31 May 1952.
Venice, Mostra d'Arte Cinese (Exhibition of Chinese Art), 1954.
London, The George de Menasce Collection, part II, Spink & Son, 10-26 May 1972.

Note: The firing of the rich persimmon glaze on this bowl is particularly successful. Persimmon glazes were made at several northern Chinese kilns during the Song and early Jin periods, including the Ding and Yaozhou kilns, and seem to have been especially admired on vases and vessel forms associated with the tea ceremony. Although the Yaozhou kilns are most commonly associated with celadon-glazed wares and black and white wares, a small number of fine persimmon-glazed Yaozhou wares have been preserved. Four examples were included in the major exhibition of Yaozhou ware at the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka in 1997 and are illustrated in The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, pp. 40-1 and 44, nos. 47, 48, 50 and 56.

A Yaozhou persimmon-glazed bowl, but with a notched rim, is illustrated in Black Porcelain from the Mr. & Mrs. Yeung Wing Tak Collection, Guangzhou, 1997, no. 160.

Christie's. J. J. Lally& Co., New York, 23.03.2023