.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The form of this vase is based on a jade cong ritual object with a circular core and a square exterior, often with stylised masks carved in horizontal registers at the corners. For an example, see the jade cong dating to the Neolithic Period, Liangzhu Culture, in the Nanjing Museum, included in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Exhibition, China, 5000 Years, New York, 1998, Catalogue, no. 5.
As early as the Song Dynasty, the Imperial court was fascinated with archaic objects and many wares were produced in imitation of ancient forms, including that of the cong. As such, the present vase may not only be emulating the jade prototype, but also the ceramic form of the Song period, such as the Longquan celadon version illustrated by A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1984, p. 94, no. 2.
This type of cong vase with the unusual undulating band is very rare. The closest example is a ge-type cong also with perforations on one side, sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 29 April 2002, lot 665.
See also two robin's-egg glazed cong with the same undulating band, one illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain - The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p.209, pl.188; and the other from the Feihong Ge collection, sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 26 April 2004, lot 941.
As early as the Song Dynasty, the Imperial court was fascinated with archaic objects and many wares were produced in imitation of ancient forms, including that of the cong. As such, the present vase may not only be emulating the jade prototype, but also the ceramic form of the Song period, such as the Longquan celadon version illustrated by A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1984, p. 94, no. 2.
This type of cong vase with the unusual undulating band is very rare. The closest example is a ge-type cong also with perforations on one side, sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 29 April 2002, lot 665.
See also two robin's-egg glazed cong with the same undulating band, one illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain - The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p.209, pl.188; and the other from the Feihong Ge collection, sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 26 April 2004, lot 941.