A RARE LONGQUAN CELADON MALLOW-FORM BOWL

SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)

Details

A RARE LONGQUAN CELADON MALLOW-FORM BOWL
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)
The deep sides rounding upwards and outwards from above the straight foot to the rim carved as the scalloped edges of six overlapping petals that are indicated on the interior by double carved lines, covered inside and out with a translucent greyish-green glaze, the bottom of the foot and base unglazed exposing the fine pale grey ware
4¾ in. (12.1 cm.) diam., box

Provenance

Warren E. Cox, New York.
Richard Bryant Hobart Collection of Oriental Ceramics, Part I; Sotheby Parke Bernet, 23 May 1969, lot 67.

Literature

W.E. Cox, The Book of Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1944, vol. I, pl. 47 (center left).
McCord, Song Ceramics, 2003, p. 56, fig. 15.

Exhibited

Huntsville Museum of Art, Art of China and Japan, 1977, no. 25.
New Orleans Museum of Art, Heaven and Earth Seen Within, 2000, no. 55.

Lot Essay

The form of this charming bowl shows the restrained use of a flower form often seen in the Southern Song period. The flower in question is the most popular of all those adopted at that time - the mallow. This flower is associated with the successful scholar, and its Chinese name, gui, is a homophone for the Chinese word for 'honor'.

A number of similar bowls have been excavated from the Jincun kilns near Dayao in strata dated to the mid- to late Southern Song period. See Longquan Qingci Yanjiu, Beijing, 1989, p. 77, fig. 8:3 and pl. 30:6. This shape can also be found in lacquers of the period, such as the six-lobed lacquer dish in the Los Angeles County Museum, illustrated in Far Eastern Lacquer, Los Angeles, 1982, no. 5.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All