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Lot Essay
Double-gourd vases symbolize longevity or immortality, attributed largely to the Daoist immortal Li Tieguai, who is typically depicted with a double-gourd containing medicinal elixirs. Among Longquan celadon wares, double-gourd vases are notably rare, with a few Yuan dynasty examples showing a more elongated form than the even rarer Ming dynasty pieces. Ma Xiaoqi illustrates an undecorated Yuan Longquan double-gourd in Zhongguo gu taoci yanjiu, vol. 12, Beijing, 2006, p. 239, fig. 13. Zhu Boqian also documents a plain Yuan example excavated in Qingtianxian, Zhejiang, in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, p. 181, no. 154. The Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, has a Yuan Longquan double-gourd vase with sprig-relief decoration, illustrated in ibid., p. 180, no. 153, with comparable vases in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul (Ayers & Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, vol. I, London, 1986, p. 222, nos. 202, 203).
The current example is more generously proportioned than known Yuan pieces. A smaller Ming double-gourd vase in the Sichuan Provincial Museum, a gift from Li Yimeng in 1988, is noted in Longquan Celadon - the Sichuan Museum Collection, Macau, 1998, pp. 194-5.
Decorated with a refined peony scroll, the current vase employs a technique seen on a Yuan dynasty jar in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrated by Margaret Medley in Yüan Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1974, pl. 70A. This intricate carving technique, which involves removing the background to leave the peony scroll in low relief, is more demanding than surface carving or sprig-molding. An early example of this technique, dated 1327, can be found on a massive Longquan vase in the Percival David Foundation, documented by Rosemary Scott in Imperial Taste: Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, San Francisco, 1989, pp. 50-1, no. 24. Similar large Yuan vases appear in Ayers & Krahl, op. cit., p. 291, pl. 209.
See an almost identical Longquan vase, sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2007, lot 292, for USD 420,000 (fig.1).
The current example is more generously proportioned than known Yuan pieces. A smaller Ming double-gourd vase in the Sichuan Provincial Museum, a gift from Li Yimeng in 1988, is noted in Longquan Celadon - the Sichuan Museum Collection, Macau, 1998, pp. 194-5.
Decorated with a refined peony scroll, the current vase employs a technique seen on a Yuan dynasty jar in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrated by Margaret Medley in Yüan Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1974, pl. 70A. This intricate carving technique, which involves removing the background to leave the peony scroll in low relief, is more demanding than surface carving or sprig-molding. An early example of this technique, dated 1327, can be found on a massive Longquan vase in the Percival David Foundation, documented by Rosemary Scott in Imperial Taste: Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, San Francisco, 1989, pp. 50-1, no. 24. Similar large Yuan vases appear in Ayers & Krahl, op. cit., p. 291, pl. 209.
See an almost identical Longquan vase, sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2007, lot 292, for USD 420,000 (fig.1).