A RARE COPPER-RED DECORATED EWER
These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more
A RARE COPPER-RED DECORATED EWER

HONGWU PERIOD (1368-1398)

Details
A RARE COPPER-RED DECORATED EWER
HONGWU PERIOD (1368-1398)
The pear-shaped vessel is painted to the exterior in varied greyish tones of underglaze red with large peony blooms and leafy scrolls below a cloud collar and ascending bands of peony scroll, key fret and stiff leaves. It has a large strap handle and a long, curved spout, the latter decorated with lotus blooms and leafy scrolls between bands of classic scroll to the tip and base of the spout.
13 ¼ in. (33.5 cm.) high
Provenance
Sotheby's London, 16 May 2007, lot 32
Special notice
These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

The Emperor Hongwu was fond of ceramics decorated in copper-red. From its appearance in the Tang dynasty, the use of copper to produce red in high-fired ceramics has proved a challenge to the potter as the colourant was volatile in the firing and produced an unpredictable range of shades from rich red to brownish-grey. Despite the technical difficulties in controlling copper during the firing process, many of the finest underglaze-red decorated porcelains were made during the Hongwu period.

Several known examples of this type of rare Hongwu ewer are recorded. Two copper-red decorated ewers, one in the Percival David Collection and another in the Matsuoka Art Museum, are included in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, figs. 13 and 12. Another example from the Qing Court collection is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 201.

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