Celadon-glazed zun vessel, Guan ware, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). © National Palace Museum

This celadon zun vessel has a flared mouth, compressed round center and solid foot. Its surface is covered in thick and even celadon glaze, the glaze bright and warm. Its outer wall displays four vertical ridgelines, and due to the slightly thinner layer of glaze bordering the ridgelines, one can see the original dark brown color of the clay below. Due to differences in the speed of heat expansion and cold contraction by the glaze and the clay during the firing process, irregular light-colored crack lines appear on the surface of the zun vessel. This is referred to as "cracks" and is a particular characteristic of porcelain made by imperial kilns. The zun vessel is elegant and solemn.

Celadon-glazed bowl with floral rim, Guan ware, Song dynasty, 1127-1279. Collection of National Palace Museum © National Palace Museum

This celadon plate resembling a blossoming lotus has a rim as refined as flower petals. The layer of glaze at the rim is thinner and appears a light brown color, because of the tendency of the glaze to drip downwards. The base of the plate is flat with circular foot, the circular foot retaining the trace of seven tiny supporting nails. Using mud nails to support the porcelain during the firing process enabled the glaze to cover the porcelain more completely. This special kind of firing-support technique was also used by Ru-Kilns, suggesting a possible connection between the Southern Song Guan wares in Zhejiang and the Ru-Kilns in Henan.

This lotus-shaped celadon plate by the Southern Song Guan ware has a clear, even and smooth glaze in a gentle color. The Southern Song Guan wares were located in the vicinity of Zhejiang, and their porcelain is generally glazed in a bluish green tint, distinguishable from the usual Zhejiang tradition of yellowish or greenish tint. It is speculated that this new tint that suddenly became popular during the Southern Song Period may also have originated from the Ru-Kilns in the north. However, the clay used for Ru-Kilns was lighter in color, while the clay used for porcelain fired in Zhejiang tended to be blacker. In addition, a pattern resembling cracks in ice and containing light yellow lines can be seen between the layers of glaze for this plate; this is referred to as "yellow eel blood in cracks of ice", and is one of the most beloved characteristics of porcelain from Guan wares of Southern Song.

Celadon-glazed vase with phoenix-shaped handles, Longquan ware, Southern Song dynasty, 1127-1279. Collection of National Palace Museum © National Palace Museum

This celadon vase with phoenix ears has a long neck and cylindrical body, its rim opening outwards like a plate, decorated with phoenix-patterned ears on the sides. Neat and elegant in shape, it is a work of the Longquan ware during the Southern Song Period.

Various types of ceramic and porcelain ware were commonly used during the Southern Song Period, including celadon porcelain, white porcelain and black porcelain; porcelain from Longquan ware can be said to be the mainstream product. The Longquan ware was located in southern Zhejiang, its porcelain sales locations widely spread and its product types numerous, frequently appearing in grave burials and cellar caches from the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Longquan ware porcelain is also frequently discovered in old overseas trading sites. After Southern Song, Longquan ware also became an important kiln in supplying domestic and overseas demand for porcelain.

Vases with a long neck and plate-like rim were quite common in the Ru Kilns of Northern Song and imperial ware of Southern Song, and were a form of porcelain favored by the court. The Longquan ware tended to add fish-patterned or phoenix-patterned ears to the sides of the long neck. The surface of the phoenix ears of this celadon vase is decorated with fine patterns, and the feathers on the head and wings of the phoenix are clearly visible. The glaze is light green in color, bright and warm without any blemish. Along with two other celadon vases with phoenix ears that are now in Japanese collection and are named "A Thousand Sounds" and "Ten Thousand Sounds" by a Japanese emperor, these are some of the most beautiful and amazing works to come from the Lonquan ware.

Narcissus basin in bluish-green glaze, Ru ware, Late 11th - early 12th centuries. Collection of National Palace Museum © National Palace Museum

During the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties from the tenth to fourteenth centuries, the firing of stoneware are widespread. Famous stonewares were named after the locations at which they were produced. Various kilns in different places came to establish their own independent styles as each excelled in the forms, glazes, skills for decorating and techniques of production for which they became known.

The centers of white-ware production during this period were the Ding kilns located in Hebei province of the north and the Jingdezhen kilns in Jiangxi province of the south. The former produced an ivory-white glaze while the latter created shadowy blue glaze. Wares from both places were known for their fluidly-carved decorative motifs and patterns created by impressing molds onto the clay body. As for black ware, Jian ware produced in Fujian province enjoyed the greatest reputation, with the crystallized streaks in the glaze appearing like the hairs of a hare. The center of multi-colored ware production was at the Jun kilns in Henan province, the glazes exhibiting various shades of blues and violets on milky-green base colors. Furthermore, many kilns also applied various ferric oxides as a coloring agent, producing celadons in different shades of light green or blue. For example, Yaozhou kilns made olive-green ware, Ru kilns created sky-blue glazes, and Guan (Official) and Longquan kilns produced pastel-green and plum-green wares, respectively. Stonewares of the period feature plain but elegant glazes as well as simple and archaic forms. Many of the decorative patterns are inspired by daily life and nature. These stonewares were much appreciated by nobility, the general public and even foreign markets. 

This section categorizes the works on display based on the color of glaze, the location where made and the date of production. The objects are grouped as white, black, celadon and multi-colored ware. It is hoped that the development and evolution of glazes, decorative patterns, forms and techniques of Song, Jin and Yuan stoneware and porcelain may be demonstrated. 

Lot 3138. A Qingbai carved 'Boy and Lotus' floral-lobed dish, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HKD 260,000 - HKD 400,000 (USD 33,676 - USD 51,809). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The dish is carved to the interior with three boys amidst stalks of lotus, covered overall with a clear glaze of pale aquamarine tone with the exception of the centre of the base. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm.) diam., box

Literature: Tan Dan-jiong, History of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, Taipei, 1985, p. 479

Exhibited: Chugoku meito ten: Chugoku toji 2000-nen no seika (Exhibition of Chinese Pottery: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics), Tokyo, 1992, no. 48

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3139. A Qingbai melon-form ewer and cover, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Estimate HKD 180,000 - HKD 260,000 (USD 23,314 - USD 33,676). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The moulded melon-shaped body is potted rising to a tall waisted neck, with a slightly curved spout, opposite the strap handle with a small loop, covered overall with a soft glaze with a tinge of pale blue. The cover is surmounted by a recumbent deer, beside a small loop for suspension. 10 3/8 in. (26.2 cm.) overall height, box

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3140. A Qingbai tixi-style carved meiping, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000 (USD 51,809 - USD 77,714). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The meiping with high-shouldered, tapering body is carved with a broad band of scrolling tendrils between double borders. It is covered inside and out with a glaze of pale aquamarine tone that ends above the foot to expose the fine biscuit ware. 10 1/2 in. (26.5 cm.) high, box

Provenance: Acquired in Taipei in the 1980s

Literature: History of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, Taipei, 1985, p. 477. (One of two)

Notes: The shape and decorations on qingbai wares were often fashioned after contemporaneous silver wares, and the current meiping is no exception. A silver meiping carved with ruyi-shaped scrolls, excavated in a Southern Song hoard in Sichuan, for example, was possibly an inspiration for the design of the current vase. The silver vase is illustrated in S. Kwan, 'Tixi wenyang fenqi chuyi', Proceedings of Conference on Ancient Chinese Lacquer, Hong Kong, 2012, p. 65, fig. 11. 

Qingbai vases of similar shape and design are in the collection of important museums and institutions. An almost identical example was in the Qing Court Collection, now in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), , Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 167. Two other examples of varying sizes, one with a height of 26 cm. in the Sichuan Chongqing Museum, the other with a height of 35.1 cm. in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, are illustrated in , Zhongguo taoci quanji: Song Yuan qingbai ci, vol. 16, Kyoto, 1984, pls. 20 and 101. Another example with broader shoulders, registered as an Important Art Object in Japan, is illustrated in Mayuyama Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 450. An example in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 11, New York, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 59. A slightly shorter example (28.6 cm. high) in the Idemitsu Collection is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 423. One is in the Meiyintang Collection, see R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, p. 325, no. 606. Another vessel that is very close to the current vase, but with a cover that flares out at the lower edge, is in the Chang Foundation, Taipei and illustrated in Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1990, pp. 154-5, no. 58.

A larged example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 3231. A similarly carved meiping with broader shoulders is illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu: Song, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 30; and another is illustrated in Mayuyama Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 417. Also compare an almost identical vase, which was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 2830.

A rare large carved Qingbai meiping and cover, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Sold HK$3,160,000 ($409,233) at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 3231. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2014

A carved Qingbai meiping, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Sold HK$1,360,000 ($176,305) at Christie’s Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 2830. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

(Cf. my post http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2015/12/06/33031801.html)

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3142. A Qingbai moulded 'Lion and Brocade Ball' washer, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 200,000 (USD 19,429 - USD 25,905). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The washer is moulded on the interior with a lion at play with a brocade ball, the well with a composite floral scroll, covered overall with a pale greenish-white glaze thinning at the centre of the base, the mouth bound with a metal mount. 6 3/4 in. (17.2 cm.) diam., box

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3143. A pair of Qingbai carved 'daylily' cups and covers, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 400,000 (USD 25,905 - USD 51,809). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

Each cup and cover is carved and combed on the exterior with daylily blossoms, covered overall with a translucent blue-tinged glaze pooling to an aquamarine tone above the foot. 3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) high, box (2)

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3144. A small moulded Qingbai ewer and cover, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000 (USD 15,543 - USD 23,314). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The ewer is moulded around the body with two continuous friezes of stylised flowers between lotus petals around the base and a petal collar, , and covered under a pale translucent bluish glaze stopping above the base. The cover is moulded in the form of a chrysanthemum, the mouth rim and underside are unglazed. 3 1/4 in. (8.2 cm.) overall height, box

Literature: History of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, Taipei, 1985, p. 474 

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3145. A Qingbai floral-lobed cup-stand, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000 (USD 15,543 - USD 23,314). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The cup stand is covered with a translucent glaze of aquamarine tone with the exception of the base, together with a qingbai-glazed cup. Cup stand: 5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) diam., box

Note: A similar qingbai cup stand is included by Mayuyama & Co., Ltd in the exhibition catalogue Song Ceramics, 2014, p. 49, no. 31, in which it is dated to the Northern Song dynasty. 

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3146. A finely carved Qingbai 'Boys' conical bowl, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HKD 260,000 - HKD 400,000 (USD 33,676 - USD 51,809). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The bowl is carved on the interior with three boys, each holding a lotus stalk, covered overall with a glossy, translucent glaze of aquamarine tone with the exception of the centre of the base revealing the fine white body. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm.) diam., box

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 108. A Callot Soeurs couture blonde and black lace evening gown, early 1930s. Estimate: £600 - £1000. © Kerry Taylor Auctions

A Callot Soeurs couture blonde and black lace evening gown, early 1930s. with ivory ribbon 'Nouvelle Marque, Paris' label, the integral black satin bias cut underslip overlaid with spiralling tiers of black tulle inset with blonde bobbin lace, large velvet corsage to waist, bust 81cm, 32in. 

Kerry Taylor Auctions. Monday December 12th at 2pm

Lot 1731. Pair of Fancy Light Purplish Pink, Light Pink and Very Light Pink Diamond and Diamond Earrings. Estimate 640,000 — 800,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Each of floral design, embellished with pear-shaped fancy light purplish pink, light pink and very light pink diamond petals weighing 5.11 carats in total, enhanced by diamond-set surround, to the circular-cut diamond centre each weighing 0.22 carat, mounted in platinum and pink gold, with clip and post fittings.

Accompanied by ten GIA reports stating that the diamonds weighing 0.60 to 0.38 carat are natural, Fancy Light Purplish Pink, Light Pink and Very Light Pink Colour; also accompanied by two GIA dossiers stating that both the 0.22 carat diamonds are E and F Colour, VS2 and VS1 Clarity respectively.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels and Jadeite, Hong Kong, 28 Nov 2016, 01:00 PM

Lot 643. A Fine 8.53 carats Burmese 'Royal Blue' Sapphire and Diamond Ring, by Boucheron. Estimate HK$ 1,100,000 - 1,800,000 (€130,000 - 220,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 636. A 11.29 carats Ceylon Sapphire and Diamond Ring, by Chaumet. Estimate HK$ 500,000 - 700,000 (€61,000 - 85,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 1695. Ceylon sapphire and diamond pendant earrings. Estimate: € 56000-65000. Photo Hampel

Length: approx. 6.5 cm - Maximum width: about 1.7 cm. Weight: 25 g. 18-ct white gold. 

Accompanied by a report from IGN no 11283 dated October. 2010. 

Magnificent three-part pendant earrings with cornflower blue transparent Ceylon sapphires each in cushion-cut, total ling about 25 cents, and fine brilliant-cut diamonds, total ling approximately 12 ct H / VS-SI. One sapphire with minimal nick. Clip post closures.

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Lot 1702. 19.33 carat Ceylon Sapphire and diamond ring. Estimate: € 35000-40000. Photo Hampel

Ring size: 58. head Ring size: about 1.5 cm. Weight: approx 13.6 g. 18-ct white gold. 

Accompanied by a report from GRS no GRS2013-032962 dated March. 2013. 

Magnificent, elegant ring with unheated fine natural Ceylon sapphire in cushion-cut, 19:33 cT, 15.30 x 12.27 x 10.09 mm, elaborately set with Brilliant-, drop- and navette-cut diamonds, total ling. approx 3.4 ct.

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Lot 1701. 14.3 carats sapphire and diamond pendant earrings. Estimate: € 30000-35000. Photo Hampel

Length: approx 4.3 cm. Width: approx 1.5 cm. Weight: approx 16.9 g. 18-ct white gold. 

Magnificent, elegant pendant earrings with cornflower blue transparent sapphire drops in facet-cut, total ling approximately 14.3 ct, with a surround of very fine brilliant-cut diamonds, total ling approximately 4.6 ct. Clip post closures.

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Lot 1723. 10:41 carats Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring. Estimate: € 30000-35000. Photo Hampel

Ring size: 53. Ring head size: about 1.8 cm. Weight: approx 13.3 g. Platinum. 

Accompanied by a report from GCS No 5775-2524 dated July 2015. 

Magnificent elaborately crafted square ring with a natural cushion-cut Ceylon sapphire (unheated), 10:41 CT, with a surround and flanked by fine brilliant-cut diamonds, total ling approximately 2.6 ct.

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016