YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)

Details

A RARE CARVED QINGBAI PEAR-SHAPED EWER
YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)
The shoulder applied on each side with a phoenix in flight above a narrow bowstring band and a broad band of petal lappets rising from the thick, flared pedestal foot, the carved and molded dragon handle and the curved spout issuing from a dragon's jaws joined by a foliate band executed in beaded outline below a band of upright leaf tips, all under a glaze of pale blue tone
10½ in. (26.7 cm.) high

Provenance

A Vietnamese Princess; Christie's, New York, 22 March 1999, lot 256.

Lot Essay

Compare the very similar ewer, with cover, in the collection of The Art Institute, Chicago, illustrated by M. Medley, Yüan Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1974, pl. 10, and later sold in these rooms, 9 November 1978, lot 125, from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Doering, Snr. This type has been dated to the first quarter of the 14th century, and according to Medley, "the slip appears to have been roughly applied to conform broadly in outline with the proposed elements and has been tidied up with some careful tool work".
Another example, with elaborate detailing, is illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, Tokyo, 1981, vol. 13, p. 56, no. 42.

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