SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)

The present lot’s archaic form reflects the refined aesthetic prevalent during the height of the Song dynasty. This period witnessed a major socio-political transition and the concomitant rise of Neo-Confucian ideology, which sought moral and aesthetic inspiration from the past. With a luscious glaze and cylindrical handles derived from archaic bronze prototypes, the vase exemplifies the scholarly revival of antiquity and the sophisticated adaptation of ancient forms into ceramic vessels.

Few Longquan examples of comparable shape and quality survive. For a slightly larger vase covered with a darker shade of green glaze, see Chu Boqian, Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei 1998, pp. 144-145, no. 111. Compare also to a vase nearly identical in size, with slight crackling in the glaze, previously in the collection of Mildred R. (1908-2000) and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh (1901-78) and then the Leshantang collection, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong 9 April 2024, lot 143.