A BLUE AND WHITE GOURD-FORM AND BEVELLED BOTTLE

Details

A BLUE AND WHITE GOURD-FORM AND BEVELLED BOTTLE
choson dynasty (18th century)

The lower body of the vessel hexagonal above the raised ring foot and the upper body ovoid with waisted neck ending in a flared mouth; painted in underglaze blue on each of the eight facets, five poems of five characters each inscribed on two facets on one side and on two facets on the other side between by a stand of chrysanthemums on two facets and a stand of dianthus flowers on two facets, all rendered in pale blue strokes with darker ink-blue dabs of color; the upper body painted in underglaze blue with auspicious symbols, a fan, a coin and a chime, each centered by four 'flaming pearls', z-shaped potter's mark on base--8¼in. (20.8cm.) high, hairline cracks, gold lacquer restorations to mouth, short firing crack in foot

Lot Essay

The poetic inscriptions on the bottle read:

Desiring to use the clay of Jiu Quan
Where the finished ceramic is like a white jade vase
In meeting, you are an intimate friend
Never saying that our toasts shall end!

PUBLISHED
Moji-o tomanatta richo toji/Korean Ceramics of Choson Dynasty with Characters (Osaka: Museum of Oriental Ceramics, 1993), pl. 28

For other double-gourd and bevelled bottles see Richo akigusa ten (Exhibition of wares decorated with autumn flowers of the Choson Dynasty) (Osaka: Museum of Oriental Ceramics, 1988), nos. 25, 26; Byung-chang Rhee, Masterpieces of Korean Art--Yi Ceramics (Tokyo: privately published, 1978), pls. 245-7

Another gourd and bevelled bottle inscribed with the same poem and also decorated with autumn grasses and auspicious symbols was sold in these Rooms, October 25, 1994, lot 27