Lot 34. An olive-green-glazed vase, Northern Qi-Sui Dynasty (550-618); 17.3cm high. Sold for £21,675 (Estimate £2,000 - 3,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

Of elegant pear shape rising from a short tapered foot to a tapered neck terminating with a bulbous mouth, with four double-bow strings across the body, covered overall in a light-green glaze turning to amber-brown. 

The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test number TL test C206g43 (8 January 2007) is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Provenance: Roger Keverne Ltd., London
A British private collection.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Winter Exhibition, London, 2007, no.25.

Note A related vase is illustrated by E.B.Avril, Heavenly Earth: Early Chinese Ceramics from the Shatzman Collection, Ithaca, NY, p.59, no.54. See also two related examples, Sui dynasty, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1996, nos.65 and 68.

Lot 37. A Qingbai incense burner and cover, Song Dynasty (960-1279); 10.8cm diam. Sold for £7,012.50 (Estimate £2,000 - 3,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

The cylindrical body with straight sides moulded with a continuous scene of fish and lotus scrolls, all supported on three bracket feet, the domed cover expertly pierced with foliate scrolls, covered in a light sky-blue glaze with crackles issuing throughout.

Lot 35. A Junyao purple-splashed tripod incense burner, ding, Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368); 16.7cm high. Sold for £9,562.50 (Estimate £2,000 - 3,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

Well potted with a compressed globular body rising to a waisted neck and everted mouth, the neck set with two rectangular handles each enclosing a stylised chilong motif, all supported on three cabriole legs, the unctuous opaque milky-blue glaze with splashes of variegated purple, draining to a pale mushroom tone at the edges and extremities and stopping short of the tips of the legs showcasing the pink-tinged grey body.

Provenance: Michael Willcox, London
A British private collection, acquired from the above on 30 January 1989.

Note: Compare with a related jun-glazed incense burner, Yuan dynasty, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (acc.no.1944-20-149a,b).

Compare also with a related Junyao purple-splashed tripod incense burner, Yuan dynasty, which was sold at Bonhams London, 16 May 2019, lot 19.

Lot 36. A Qingbai ewer and cover, Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368); 14.5cm high. Sold for £7,012.50 (Estimate £4,000 - 6,000). © Bonhams 2001-2023

Elegantly potted of flattened pear shape rising from a tapering foot, applied with a loop handle and curving spout, moulded on each side with a lotus and crane amidst ruyi-clouds respectively, all between patterned borders, the domed cover surmounted by a mythical-beast finial, all covered in a light sky-blue glaze. 

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Chinese Ceramic Treasures, A selection from Ulricehamns East Asian Museum, Including the Carl Kempe Collection, Ulricehamm, 2002, p.231, no.761.

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 15 May 2023, London, Knightsbridge