SOUTHERN SONG-YUAN DYNASTY (1127-1368)

The majority of this type of Longquan celadon mallet vases were made with two distinctive handles, either in the form of phoenixes, as in the case of the current vase, or in the form of fish. A very similar Longquan mallet vase with a pair of phoenix-shaped handles, from the Qing Court Collection and now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 33 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 110, no. 98. Another with fish handles is illustrated ibid, p. 110, no. 96.

A shard of a vase of this form excavated at Longquanxian is illustrated by J. Wirgin in Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, fig. 30C-16, together with a larger vase of the same form, pl. 39I. A vase of similar size to the present example is illustrated in Special Exhibition of Cultural Relics found off Sinan Coast, National Museum of Korea, Seoul, 1977, no. 7. Other Longquan mallet vases with phoenix handles include one illustrated by M. Sullivan in Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 80a; and one in Oriental Ceramics, The World’s Great Collections, Museum Pusat, Jakarta, vol. 3, 1982, pl. 130.

The dating of the vase is consistent with the results of C & C Authentication Laboratory Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. 8283RE04C.