Lot 113. A small Longquan celadon 'drum-form' jar and cover, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279); 5.4cm high. (3). Sold for HK$140,800 (Est: $30 000 HKD - $50 000 HKD) © Bonhams 2001-2023

Delicately potted in the form of a drum, the globular body applied with a pair of moulded plum flower handles suspending rings at opposite sides, further applied with a band of small protruding bosses around the base and the cover, covered overall in a glaze of powder-green tone, the mouth and foot rim unglazed and burnt orange during firing, box. 

Provenance: An important Hong Kong family collection, acquired in the 1970s
Christie's Hong Kong, 3 December 2021, lot 2819.

Exhibited and published: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong,
The Multiplicity of Simplicity - Monochrome wares from the Song to
the Yuan dynasties, 2012, no. 78

Note: The form and design of the present lot, inspired by Shang and Zhou dynasties archaic bronzes, has demonstrated archaism as an important element of the Song dynasty aesthetic. Compare a similar example illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyingtang Collection, Vol. 3 (II), London, 2006, no. 1576. A further example is illustrated in The Rosalind Ching Pastor Collection: Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, July 28-September 25, 2005, p. 9.

Bonhams. SUBTLE BEAUTY THE AESTHETICS OF SONG DYNASTY, 29 November 2023, Hong Kong, Admiralty