Lot Essay
Similar examples are illustrated in the Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, England, 1993, vol. I, Catalogue, Chinese Ceramics, p. 61, no. 24; in the Charles B. Hoyt Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1952, Memorial Exhibition, Catalogue, p. 25, no. 96; by Ren-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argenc, The Hans Popper Collection of Oriental Art, Japan, 1973, p. 91, no. 56. Compare also, the related jar with narrow tapered neck under a similar glaze, illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1996, p. 93, p. 149; see also, ibid., p. 121 where the author notes that "Though its origins can be traced to the Central Plains at the beginning of the late Western Han, brown lead-glazed earthenware did not gain great popularity until the 6th century, when there was a sudden increase in the numbers and shapes of everyday utensils and of human and animal figures with such decoration. Concurrently Tang potters produced monochrome brown-glazed wares and vessels decorated with a combination of brown and polychrome glazes. Gongxian in Henan was the leading source of brown-glazed wares, as confirmed by shards collected from the kiln site."