A rare imperial gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel incense burner and a cover. The incense burner Wanli six-character mark and of the period, the cover 18th century. Estimate: 320,000-400,000 HKD. Sold for HK$ 875,000 (€105,802). Photo Bonhams. 

The body of compressed globular form, decorated with four dragons amidst meandering lotus scrolls, above a slightly domed foot with lotus lappets, rising to a short neck with a key-fret band on the pronounced mouth rim, the shoulders flanked by a pair of 'C'-shaped dragon handles, the base with a six-character mark; the later cover with gilt-bronze pierced meandering lotus scrolls above the rim and on the finial, decorated on the sides with circular cartouches enclosing the Buddhist wheel-of-fire interspersed with scrolls. 24.5cm (9 5/8in) wide (2).

Notes: The present incense burner belongs to a selected group of imperial wares, each with a Da Ming Wanli Nian Zao mark. These marks are very consistent and are executed in cloisonné enamel, with the six-characters arranged in two parallel columns infilled with red enamel, enclosed within a rectanglular frame and surrounded by a band of cloud orruyi-head motifs. 

There are several cloisonné enamel incense burners with the same Wanli reign mark and of the period, from the Qing Court collection, including a compressed globular incense burner with upright handles and elephant-head feet, and another rectangular incense burner and cover, with the Eight Buddhist Emblems on a white ground, illustrated inCompendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 1, Beijing, 2011, pls.100-101.

A related cloisonné enamel tripod incense burner, ding, Wanli mark and period, was sold in our London rooms, 10 July 2006, lot 45. 

Bonhams. IMPERIAL SPLENDOUR, 3 Dec 2015 12:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

A rare imperial gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel 'hundred shou' bowl, Incised Jiaqing six-character mark and of the period. Estimate: 450,000-600,000 HKD. Sold for HK$ 562,500 (€68,016). Photo Bonhams.

With deep rounded sides raised on a short straight foot, decorated on the exterior around the body with two friezes of shou characters in stylised zhuanshu, between bands of classic scrolls at the rim and above the foot, all highlighted in gilt-wire above a rich blue ground. 15.4cm (6 1/8in) diam.

Notes: Bowls decorated with shou characters, representing longevity, such as the present lot, belong to a group of wares which were specifically used during imperial banquets and birthday celebrations. 

Compare two related 'shou' character bowls, Jiaqing marks and period, of varying shapes, from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2001, pls.154-155; and another illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 3, Beijing, 2011, pl.73; see also an almost identical pair of bowls in the Museé Nissim de Camondo, Paris, illustrated by B.Quette, ed., Cloisonné. Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, p.19, fig.2.1; and another related bowl, illustrated by H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, pl.347. 

A similar cloisonné enamel 'hundred shou' bowl, Jiaqing mark and period, was sold at Sotheby's London, 6 November 2013, lot 303.

Bonhams. IMPERIAL SPLENDOUR, 3 Dec 2015 12:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

A rare gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel ribbed incense burner, Late Ming Dynasty. Estimate: 320,000-400,000 HKD. Sold for HK$ 400,000 (€48,367). Photo Bonhams.

The cylindrical body supported on three cabriole feet, the exterior decorated with seven horizontal bands of prunus and ruyi-head leafy scrolls between raised ribs, all enamelled in vivid tones of white, yellow, red, blue and green against a rich turquoise ground. 9cm (3 1/2in) high

Notes: The form of the present lot derives from gilt-bronze tripod circular incense burners of the Eastern Han period. An example of one such early piece is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Wenwu mingjia dajiangtang. Zhongguo qingtongqi, Beijing, 2008, p.274. These prototypes were the source of inspiration for many later periods and appear in a wide range of different mediums; see for example an earthenware incense burner applied with green glaze, Tang dynasty, illustrated by J.Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, no.51. In the National Palace Museum, Taipei, there are several porcelain examples of tripod incense burners with very similar narrow concentric bands forming ribs, Xuande, illustrated by Liao Baoxiu, Dianya fuli - gugong cangci, Taipei, 2013, pp.41 and 137, pls.5, 6 and 30. 

Compare the narrow bands of ruyi-shaped motifs on scrolling vines, with the similarly rendered motifs on a cloisonné enamel box and cover, Wanli mark and period, and on the foot of a cloisonné enamel box and cover, late Ming dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 1, Beijing, 2011, pls.106 and 157. This form and related style continued onto the Qianlong period as demonstrated in the cloisonné enamel tripod censer, Qianlong mark and period, sold at Christie's London, 6 November 2012, lot 46.

Bonhams. IMPERIAL SPLENDOUR, 3 Dec 2015 12:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

A bronze alms bowl incense burner, late Ming-early Qing dynasty. Est. HKD 100,000 — 150,000. Lot sold 2,960,000 HKD (381,929 USD). Photo: Sotheby's

heavily cast of compressed globular form, elegantly formed with broad rounded shoulders below a small lipped rim, the flat base centred with a six-character mark reading Xuehai Tangzhuren zhi ('Made for the Master of the Xuehai Hall') within a recessed panel, the bronze richly patinated to a deep brown colour - 14.2 cm., 5 5/8  in.

Provenance: David Rote Antiques Ltd., London, 1981.

Notes: This elegantly cast vessel is notable for its form, after a Buddhist alms bowls. Among later bronzes, alms bowls were converted into incense burners for the scholar's studio, although more commonly found with two ring handles on the body. This is a more elegant version of the type, intricately cast with an apocryphal six-character Xuande reign mark.

For a gold-splashed bowl, also with an apocryphal Xuande six-character reign mark, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, see the exhibition Guan cang yadiao ji Ming, Qing tonglu tezhan / Special Exhibition of Ivory Carvings and Ming and Qing Incense Burners from the Museum's Collection, Kumamoto City Museum, Kumamoto, 1997, cat. no. 178. See also a plain bronze bowl of this type, attributed to the Ming dynasty, published in Paul Moss and Gerard Hawthorn, The Second Bronze Age. Later Chinese Metalwork, London, 1991, pl. 45.

Compare also two other examples of bronze alms bowl incense burners, both from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection, a small Yongzheng reign-marked example sold in these rooms, 8th April 2014, lot 203, and a gold-splashed vessel inscribed with the mark baoyong ('for treasured use'), sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 117.

Sotheby's. Later Chinese Bronzes From The Collection of Mr And Mrs Gerard Hawthorn. Hong Kong, 03 Dec 2015

A pair of gilt-bronze hexagonal vases, Ming Dynasty, Jiajing period. Est. HKD 500,000 — 700,000. Lot sold 975,000 HKD (125,804 USD). Photo: Sotheby's

each of hexagonal section, cast with a baluster body surmounted by a tall trumpet neck and flared rim, the neck with a stylised shou character, the faceted sides of the lower body decorated with various leafy sprays, including pomegranate, lotus, lychee and peach, below a continuous scene of further floral blossoms and fourwan characters around the neck, the neck flanked by a pair of elephant-head loop handles suspending loose lobed rings with lotus motifs - 24.5 cm., 9 5/8  in.

Provenance: Peter Kemp Antiques, London, 1981 

Notes: Finely decorated with floral and fruity branches over a punched ground, the iconography of these vases matches those on porcelain wares of the period. The unusual motif of a stylised shou character forming a tree, for instance, can be found on a Jiajing reign-marked wucai dish preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours. The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p.19, no.18.

This design is also found on Fahua wares of the period, such as two baluster-shaped vases modelled with elephant-head handles and decorated with similar ruyi heads under the shoulder, sold at Christie's London, the first, 20th November 1972, lot 60, and the second, 14th July 1980, lot 173. See also a bronze bottle vase similarly decorated with fruity branches and elephant-head handles was sold in our London rooms, 15th June 1982, lot 123.

These vases are characteristic of Jiajing works of art, as the designs are imbued with Daoist imagery intended to protect their owner from the vicissitudes of fortune and to ascertain male offspring and a prolonged life. Among the various auspicious motifs depicted on these vases, the pomegranates, lychees and lotus pods with exposes seeds are symbolic of fertility and the arrival of male sons, while the peaches and the plum trees with their trunk contorted to form a shoucharacter represent the wish for longevity and a long life.

Sotheby's. Later Chinese Bronzes From The Collection of Mr And Mrs Gerard Hawthorn. Hong Kong, 03 Dec 2015

A Bronze 'Mythical Beast' Incense Burner and Cover, Early Qing Dynasty. Est. HKD 100,000 — 150,000. Lot sold 600,000 HKD (77,418 USD). Photo: Sotheby's

cast in the form of a mythical beast resting on its hindquarters with its head turned sharply to one side looking over its shoulder, the beast fantastically envisaged with armour-like scales, a serrated spine and limbs covered in stylised flames, its mouth wide open in a ferocious expression, the cover solidly cast and modelled as a smaller beast nibbling on a hind leg, the vessel with two apertures along the back of the larger animal, patinated to a rich chocolate-brown colour - height 13.2 cm., 5 1/8  in.

Provenance: Jeremy Mason Oriental Art Ltd., London, 1990s 

Sotheby's. Later Chinese Bronzes From The Collection of Mr And Mrs Gerard Hawthorn. Hong Kong, 03 Dec 2015

A large bronze 'Laozi and Buffalo' incense burner and cover, Late Ming Dynasty. Est. HKD 300,000 — 500,000. Lot sold 575,000 HKD (74,192 USD). Photo: Sotheby's

the massively cast figure with a detachable cover, sturdily cast in the form of the sage seated with the right hand resting on the right knee, the expression depicted sombre and meditative, dressed in long loose robes cascading in folds around the exposed shoe, the mouth and back pierced through with apertures, fitted to the back of the hollow buffalo with a pin, the beast depicted strenuously moving forward, the head detailed with a well pronounced snout below a tuft of hair flanked by a pair of long curved striated horns, the patina of an even dark brown colour - length 45.9 cm., 18 in.

Provenance: Albert Bang Antiques, Paris, 1990s.

Notes: A closely related bronze incense burner, cast in the form of Laozi riding a buffalo and inscribed with a cyclical date corresponding to 1629 or 1689, was included in the exhibition Between Heaven and Earth. Secular and Divine Figural Images in Chinese Paintings and Objects, Sydney L. Moss, London, 1988, cat. no. 38; another was sold in these rooms, 17th May 1989, lot 443; and a third from the collection of Eileen Bamberger, was sold in our New York rooms, 1st June 1994, lot 451. Laozi is one of the most revered immortals of Daoism, credited with the writing of the Daodejing [The classic of the Way and its power]. Depictions of Laozi riding an ox are numerous, as according to legend he was riding an ox on his way to the West, when he was asked by the keeper of the Hangu Mountain pass to write down his teachings.

Sotheby's. Later Chinese Bronzes From The Collection of Mr And Mrs Gerard Hawthorn. Hong Kong, 03 Dec 2015

A bronze incense burner, late Ming-early Qing dynasty. Est. HKD 30,000 — 50,000. Lot sold 375,000 HKD (74,192 USD). Photo: Sotheby's

finely cast with a compressed globular body rising to a waisted neck, all supported on a low foot, the sides set with two lion-head handles cast in high relief, the base with an apocryphal kaishu inscription in a recessed panel reading Daming Xuande wunian jiandu gongbu guanchen Wu Bangzuo zao (‘Made for the Board of Works under the Supervision of Wu Bangzuo in the Fifth Year of Xuande’), the patina of a variegated warm caramel-brown colour - 19.7 cm., 7 3/4  in.

Notes: The inscription is one of a series of apocryphal ones stating that Wu Bangzuo, the Minister of the Ministry of Works in the 5th year of the Xuande reign, supervised production which tend to appear on late Ming and Qing incense burners.  Whether or not such an inscription appeared on any Xuande period bronzes is unclear, as there do not appear to be any credible extant examples, but it became a standard late Ming or Qing designation. For a related example, see Paul Moss and Gerard Hawthorn, The Second Bronze Age. Later Chinese Metalwork. Sydney Moss Ltd., London, 1991, cat. no. 46. See also a bronze incense burner stand with this inscription from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection, sold in these rooms, 8th April 2014, lot 243, and an incense burner from the collection of Ulrich Hausmann, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2014, lot 3316.

Sotheby's. Later Chinese Bronzes From The Collection of Mr And Mrs Gerard Hawthorn. Hong Kong, 03 Dec 2015

A fine rare blue and white 'Magnolia' month cup, Kangxi six-character mark within a double circle and of the period (1662-1722). Estimate HK$350,000 - HK$450,000 ($45,373 - $58,336). Price realized HK$975,000 ($126,395). Photo Christie's Image LTD 2015

The thinly potted cup has deep rounded sides rising to a flaring rim, with the exterior exquisitely painted representing the second month with two magnolia trees on one side and stalks of bamboo on the reverse. 2 1/4 in. (5.8 cm.) diam.

Notes: It is rare to find cups emblematic of the twelve months painted in underglaze-blue and without the poetic inscription. Comparing to similarly painted ‘month cups’ with inscriptions, the present cup can be identified as representing the second month with two flowering magnolia trees. Compare with three complete sets of cups for all twelve months with peotic inscriptions, the first is in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, no. 71; the second in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 21, the third complete set is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art - Chinese Ceramics IV - Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 105B.

Christie's. IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

A fine rare blue and white 'Narcissus' month cup, Kangxi six-character mark within a double circle and of the period (1662-1722). Estimate HK$350,000 - HK$450,000 ($45,373 - $58,336). Price realized HK$975,000 ($126,395). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The cup is thinly potted with deep rounded sides rising to a gently flaring rim. The exterior is finely painted representing the first month with flowering narcissus and two long stems of roses growing beside a scholar's rock, with another narcissus on the reverse. 2 3/8 in. (5.9 cm.) diam.

Notes: It is rare to find cups emblematic of the twelve months painted in underglaze-blue and without the poems inscription. Comparing to similarly painted ‘month cups’ with inscription, the present cup can be identified as representing the first month with clusters of flowering narcissus. Compare with three complete sets of cups for all twelve months with peotic inscriptions, the first is in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, no. 71; the second in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 21, the third complete set is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art - Chinese Ceramics IV - Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 105B. 

Christie's. IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

A carved Longquan celadon ewer, Early Ming dynasty, 15th century. Estimate HK$700,000 - HK$900,000 ($90,745 - $116,672). Price realized HK$937,500 ($121,534). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The ewer is potted with a pear-shaped body and an elegant spout, joined to the neck with a cloud-shaped strut opposite an arched strap-handle, carved around the body with large blooms of peony flowers borne on scrolling vines growing leaves to the sides, the tapered neck is decorated with a frieze of smaller leafy scrolls, below a band of bladed leaves on the upper neck and the everted rim, all supported on a slightly splayed ring foot incised with a band of key fret pattern. It is covered overall in a glaze of olive-green tone with the exception of the ring foot. 12 1/2 in. (31.75 cm.) high 

Provenance: A private family collection in Sweden, inherited prior to 1995

Notes: Compare to related carved ewers included in the exhibition Green- Longquan Celadons of the Ming at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, Catalogue nos. 60-63. An uncarved Longquan ewer of very similar shape, also dating to the early Ming dynasty, from the Manno Museum Collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 October 2002, lot 558 (fig. 1).

A very rare Early Ming Longquan celadon ewer, Ming dynasty, early 15th century, from the Manno Museum Collection. Price Realized HK$657,250 ($84,690) at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 October 2002, lot 558. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2002

Christie's. IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

A rare Longquan celadon 'Peony' ewer, Ming dynasty, 15th century. Estimate HK$300,000 - HK$500,000 ($38,891 - $64,818). Price realized HK$525,000 ($68,059). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The gently flattened ewer with quadrilobed sides rises from a slightly splayed short foot to a tall cylindrical neck, terminating with a mouth of conforming shape. Each of the two sides are moulded in relief with a petal-shaped panel enclosing a peony spray. The narrow sides with a graceful arched strap-handle and an elegantly curved spout, connected to the body with a scroll-shaped strut, all under a fine and even green glaze stopping neatly above the foot. 8 1/2 in. (21.5 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

Provenance: Akaboshi family (according to label on box)

Notes: Compare to a related Longquan celadon ewer, but moulded to the sides with a panel enclosing a lingzhi spray, previously in the Edward T. Chow Collection, sold at Sotheby's London, 16 December 1980, lot 308.

Christie's. IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

A rare Ming incised Longquan celadon dish, Hongwu period (1368-1398). Estimate HK$300,000 - HK$400,000 ($38,891 - $51,854). Price realized HK$275,000 ($35,650). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The dish is sturdily potted with shallow rounded sides rising to a flat everted rim and covered overall in a glaze of an even sea-green tone. The interior is incised to the centre with a single lotus spray enclosed within triple lines, surrounded by a continuous lotus scroll with six flowerheads on leafy vines, all below the rim decorated with a keyfret border. 7 1/2 in. (19 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Provenance: Daitoji temple (by repute), Kyoto, the Japanese box was inscribed by the monk Giokshu who was active at the temple in the late 17th century

Notes: The motif of the current dish is more commonly found on decoration in underglaze-red, or underglaze-blue. These dishes decorated with similiar flower scrolls are found on cupstands as well. Examples were included in the Hong Kong Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition, Jingdezhen Wares - The Yuan Evolution, Hong Kong, 1984 also illustrated in the catalogue nos. 140, 141, 149.

Compare to a celadon dish and a celadon cupstand with similar decoration also illustrated in the catalogue, no. 161 and 163. The dish is similarly potted with an everted rim and incised with a central lotus medallion surrounded by a lotus scroll and keyfret border. 

Christie's. IMPORTANT CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

Sarah Moon: Fashion 9 Yohji Yamamoto, 1996© Sarah Moon

HAMBURG.- With a special focus on the film works, for the first time ever the oeuvre of the photographer Sarah Moon is being presented as a retrospective in the House of Photography at theDeichtorhallen. Some 350 photographs and five films allow visitors to immerse themselves in Sarah Moon’s magical world. 

Sarah Moon: The Birnbaum, 1992© Sarah Moon

Born in 1941, the photographer grew up in England and France. After working in Paris as a model for several years, she took up photography in 1968. In these years, she adopted the artist’s name Sarah Moon. Her first campaign pictures for the Cacharel fashion label were followed by innumerable advertising photographs for Dior, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake and Valentino among others, as well as fashion features for magazines.

Sarah Moon: The Seagull, 1998© Sarah Moon

Yet Sarah Moon is much more than a fashion photographer. She makes short films and documentaries (including portraits of her close friend Henri Cartier-Bresson and Lillian Bassman) as well as the feature film »Mississipi One«. In this way, over decades she has developed an individual artistic oeuvre in photograhy and film outside of her commissioned works.

Sarah Moon: Untitled, 2008© Sarah Moon

Her pictures in soft-focus black- and-white or pale colors lure the viewer into a realm of dreams, of myths and fairytales; they also reflect the paradisiacal: unknown landscapes, enchanted cities. Her fashion shots, still lifes and portraits seem like views into timelessness. In her series – and also in the exhibition in Hamburg – she herself combines portraits, still lifes of flowers, and views of the city and the countryside. Her unmistakable style influenced the so-called mood photography. 

Sarah Moon: Monette pour Comme des Garçons, 2007 © Sarah Moon

»Sarah Moon disturbs the viewer. She jolts him or her out of the space of ordered identity into a time of discord and chaotic difference. The content of each individual picture is uncertain. Time and space become blurred. The pictorial structure and composition are ambiguous, irregular and fragmentary. The sharpness is often reduced, details, surfaces and color values are changed, a gray fog is added. The shots processed by the artist thus reflect her painterly and graphic imagination and give pictures the appearance of an emerging or fading memory,« say the exhibition curators Ingo Taubhorn and Brigitte Woischnik. 

Sarah Moon: Kassia Pysiak, 1998© Sarah Moon

Sarah Moon’s works have been shown in museums and galleries throughout the world, including the International Center of Photography in New York, the Maison Européene de la Photographie in Paris, the Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art and the Royal College of Art in London. The retrospective exhibition in the House of Photography at the Deichtorhallen Hamburg is the most comprehensive exhibition by Sarah Moon to date. 

Lot 2818. A very rare Jizhou leaf-decorated conical tea bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HK$800,000 - HK$1,200,000 ($103,709 - $155,563). Price Realized HK$937,500 ($121,534). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The bowl is delicately potted with wide flared sides. The interior is decorated near the centre with the gossamer imprint of a brownish-buff leaf against a dark-brown glaze that thins to an amber colour at the rim and ends above the shallow ring foot exposing the buff body. 6 3/8 in. (16.3 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Literature: Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 108-109, no. 41
Rosemary Scott, ‘Chinese Classic Wares from a Japanese Collection: Song Ceramics from the Linyushanren Collection’,Arts of Asia, March-April 2014, pp. 97-108, fig. 12

Exhibited: Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013, Catalogue, no. 41 

Notes: This type of leaf decoration is the most iconic and daring artistic creation in Jizhou kilns, revered by both Chinese and Japanese connoisseurs. As discussed by Robert Mowry, such decoration was created by affixing a leaf to the interior of a bowl and then immersing the bowl in the dark brown glaze slurry. When fired in the kiln, chemical reactions robbed the leaf of its dark brown colour rendering it transparent. The end result was a ghostly impression of the leaf structure, typically golden amber or pale yellow in colour. It is important to note that during the firing, edges of the leaf were often burnt curled, which caused an incomplete impression. A successful execution of the leaf decoration as represented by the present piece is rare. 

The idea of perpetuating a perishable leaf on an enduring object embodies various philosophical thoughts, in particular, Zen Buddhism. Jiangxi is the common home of five clans and seven schools of the Zen Buddhism. In Song dynasty, Jizhou housed more than fifty Zen Buddhist Monasteries. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Japanese disciples of Zen Buddhism brought home the Buddhism laws together with tea drinking habit and fine utensils. Tea bowls such as the present example are still highly praised in Japan today and are termed Konoha Tenmoku. 

The conical form such as the current ‘leaf’ bowl is the most revered type of Jizhou ‘leaf’ bowls. A similar Jizhou ‘leaf’ bowl, classified as Important Cultural Property, is in The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, is illustrated by Asahi Shimbun, Song Ceramics, Tokyo, 1999, p. 117, no. 79. Another bowl of this type in the National Palace Museum collection is illustrated in Songci tezhan mulu (Illustrated Catalogue of Song Ceramics), Taipei, 1978, p. 50, no. 20. Other comparable bowls include one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated in in The Charles B. Hoyt Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts: Boston, Vol. II, Boston, 1972, no. 131; and one decorated with a three-pronged leaf, illustrated in Mayuyama Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, vol. 1, p. 225, no. 677. More numerous are bowls with rounded sides, such as the small ‘leaf’ bowl unearthed from a tomb dated to the second year of the Kaixi reign (1206) in Shangrao city, Jiangxi province, illustrated in the Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji (Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China), Beijing, 2008, vol. 14, p. 54; and a similar small bowl in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, discussed and illustrated by Robert Mowry in Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Patridge Feathers: Chinese Brown-And Black-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996, p. 261, no. 108. Compare also a small number of rare examples of Jizhou bowls that are decorated with more than one leaf, such as one from the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrated in Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Patridge Feathers: Chinese Brown-And Black-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, op. cit., p. 260, no. 107; and another example in the Baur Collection, Geneva, illustrated by John Ayers in The Baur Collection: Chinese Ceramics, Geneva, 1968, vol. 1, no. A67. 

Christie's. THE CLASSIC AGE OF CHINESE CERAMICS - THE LINYUSHANREN COLLECTION, PART I, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

Lot 2820. A superb Jian'hare's fur' tea bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate HK$1,000,000 - HK$1,500,000 ($129,636 - $194,454). Price Realized HK$2,440,000 ($316,312). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The bowl is heavily potted with deep rounded sides rising to a waisted neck and a vertical mouth, supported on a short straight foot. It is covered inside and out with a lustrous black glaze finely streaked with iridescent 'hare's fur' markings that stops irregularly above the foot exposing the chocolate-brown body. The mouth rim is mounted with metal. 4 7/8 in. (12.5 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Provenance: Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo

Notes: This classic Jian ware tea bowl has finely streaked ‘hare’s fur’ markings with an iridescent sheen. This effect depends upon various factors such the kiln atmosphere, and kiln temperature. Due to the uncertainty in firing, the wastage rate at Jian kiln was relatively high. In his first trip to the Jian ware kiln site in Shuiji in 1935, James Marshall Plumer (1899-1960) was overwhelmed by the immensity of the waste pile. He noted that “there were broken bowls in vast profusion” and the pile was around 20 metres high and consisted of bowls rejected by the potters due to minor imperfection. 

These bowls were held in high esteem by Song scholar-official class and even the emperors. Cai Xiang (1012-1067), the famous calligrapher and high official in the Northern Song court designated the ‘hare’s fur’ tea bowls from Jian’an the most appropriate utensil in serving tea in his two-chapter treatise on tea entitled Cha lu (A Record of Tea). He believed the white tea looked best in black-glazed bowls and the slightly thicker wall of Jian wares help to retain the heat of tea. By the early twelfth century, the connoisseurship of Jian tea bowls were further developed by the Emepror Huizong (1082-1135). In his twenty chapter treatise on tea, Daguan chalun (A Discourse on Tea in the Daguan Era) of 1107, the Huizong emperor commented that “the desirable colour of a tea bowl is bluish black and the best examples display clearly streaked hairs.” The current bowl is representative of the best tea bowls in Song dynasty, judging by the Huizong emperor’s criteria. 

Deep bowls with waist below the rim such as the current piece, is the most iconic form of Jian ware tea bowls. The earliest dated Jian ware example of this form was unearthed from a tomb dated to the second year of Jingkang (1127), in Wuyuan, Jiangxi province, illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua dacidian taoci juan (Dictionary of Gems of Chinese Cultural Relics: Ceramics), Shanghai, 1995, p. 306, no. 460. A bowl of similar form and size unearthed from a Southern Song tomb dated to the first year of the Qingyuan reign (1195) is illustrated by Liu Tao, Dated Ceramics of the Song, Liao and Jin Periods, Beijing, 2004, p. 123, fig. 9-6. Another similar example found in the Yuan dynasty shipwreck in Sinan, South Jeolla, Korea is illustrated in Relics Salvaged from the Seabed Off Sinan, Seoul, 1985, p. 106, plate. 94. 

During the Southern Song dynasty, tea drinking was customary in Buddhist monasteries. The Southern Song dynasty painting Luohans Drinking Tea, from the set Daitokuji denrai Gohyakurakanzu (The Daitokuji 500 Luohan Paintings) that were brought to Japan from China around the same time, demonstrated that Jian bowls of similar form as the present bowl were well preserved in Buddhist monasteries (fig. 1).  

fig. 1. Luohans Drinking Tea, Zhou Jichang (active late-12th century), Southern Song Dynasty, from the Daitokuji denrai Gohyakurakanzu (The Daitokuji 500 Luohan Paintings). Published by Nara National Museum and National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, 2014.

Together with Buddhist paintings, the tradition of tea drinking and appreciation of tea bowls were introduced to Japan by Japanese monks who travelled to China. In fact the Japanese term for Jian ware tea bowls, tenmoku, is derived from the name of famous Zen Buddhism Mountain, the Tianmu Mountain outside Hangzhou. Over the years, bowls such as the current example were treasured and handed down by generations of Japanese connoisseurs. 

Christie's. THE CLASSIC AGE OF CHINESE CERAMICS - THE LINYUSHANREN COLLECTION, PART I, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

Lot 2821. An 'oil spot' black-glazed shallow bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). EstimateHK$1,000,000 - HK$1,500,000 ($129,636 - $194,454). Price Realized HK$2,440,000 ($316,312). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The bowl with wide flared sides is covered inside and out in a lustrous black glaze suffused with a dense pattern of fine silver 'oil spots', ending in an irregular line above the neatly cut foot ring to expose the pale grey stoneware. 4 5/8 in. (11.9 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Provenance: By repute, from the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum 
Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo

Literature: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art, Tokyo, 2006, p. 63, no. 78
Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, p. 86, no. 26
Rosemary Scott, ‘Chinese Classic Wares from a Japanese Collection: Song Ceramics from the Linyushanren Collection’,Arts of Asia, March-April 2014, pp. 97-108, fig. 8

Exhibited: Sen Shu Tey, Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006, Catalogue, no. 78
Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013, Catalogue, no. 26

Christie's. THE CLASSIC AGE OF CHINESE CERAMICS - THE LINYUSHANREN COLLECTION, PART I, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

Lot 2823. A large Henan russet-painted black-glazed wine jar, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Estimate HK$300,000 - HK$500,000 ($38,891 - $64,818). Price Realized HK$300,000 ($38,891). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The high shouldered body is surmounted by a ribbed neck below an everted mouth rim. It is decorated in bold brush strokes with three abstract phoenix of russet-brown tone, reserved against a black ground that stops above the narrow foot exposing the buff body. 11 1/8 in. (28.2 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

Provenance: Kochukyo, Tokyo

Literature: Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 98-99, no. 36

Exhibited: Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013, Catalogue, no. 36

Notes: Ovoid jars of this type, with this distinctive small, double-ringed mouth, are termed xiaokou ping (small-mouthed bottles), and were probably used for storing wine and other liquids. Typically dark-glazed, such bottles are often painted in russet in this instance decorated with an abstract phoenix design. Birds in flight, or abstract floral decoration, rendered with vigorous, calligraphic strokes, are characteristic of these jars.

A jar of this type, with floral decoration rather than the birds on the shoulder of the present jar, in the collection of Dr. Robert Barron, is illustrated by R.D. Mowry in Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Cambridge, 1996, p. 165, no. 55, and subsequently sold at Christie's New York, 30 March 2005, lot 303. Compare also a related jar of larger size from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, sold at Christie's New York, The Collection Of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part I - Masterworks Including Indian, Himalayan And Southeast Asian Works Of Art, Chinese And Japanese Works Of Art, 17 March 2015, lot 19.

A Cizhou russet-decorated black-glazed ovoid bottle, Jin-Yuan dynasty, 13th century, sold $9,600 at Christie's New York, 30 March 2005, lot 303. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2005

A very rare large Cizhou-type russet-painted black-ground ovoid jar, xiaokou ping, China, Jin-Yuan dynasty, 13th century, sold $665,000 at Christie's New York, The Collection Of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part I - Masterworks Including Indian, Himalayan And Southeast Asian Works Of Art, Chinese And Japanese Works Of Art, 17 March 2015, lot 19. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2005

Christie's. THE CLASSIC AGE OF CHINESE CERAMICS - THE LINYUSHANREN COLLECTION, PART I, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall

Lot 2825. A very rare Jizhou tixi-style painted meiping, Southern Song-Yuan dynasty, 13th-14th century. Estimate HK$1,000,000 - HK$1,500,000 ($129,636 - $194,454). Price Realized HK$2,920,000 ($378,537). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The slender oviform body is painted with an overall pattern of ruyi-shaped panels enclosing connecting spirals in a creamy coffee brown glaze, simulating tixi lacquer. The narrow neck is further decorated with a key-fret band, below a rounded lip painted with a band of dots. The meiping is covered with a dark brownish glaze that continues inside that neck. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

Provenance: Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo

Literature: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art, Tokyo, 2006, p. 64, no. 79
Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 112-113, no. 43
Rosemary Scott, ‘Chinese Classic Wares from a Japanese Collection: Song Ceramics from the Linyushanren Collection’,Arts of Asia, March-April 2014, pp. 97-108, fig. 15

Exhibited: Sen Shu Tey, Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006, Catalogue, no. 79
Christie's, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013, Catalogue, no. 43

Notes: This well-proportioned meiping is rare among Jizhou wares, for being fully decorated with ruyi patterns in the style oftixi lacquer. This effect was achieved by painting the ruyi patterns in buff colour on top of the unfired black glaze. 

Three comparable tixi-decorated Jizhou meiping are published: one with similar decoration but of a truncated form was excavated from a Southern Song tomb in Zhangshu city, Jiangxi province, illustrated in the Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji (Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China), Beijing, 2008, vol. 14: Jiangxi, p. 86; a relatedmeiping in the Tokyo National Museum is published in the Oriental Ceramics: the World’s Great Collections, vol. 1:Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1982, monochrome plates, no. 95; and another meiping of similar form and decoration was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 2014, lot 103. The present vase has the most desirable golden opalescent quality of the design contrasts very effectively with the dense, dark brown glaze beneath. For a lacquer prototype, see Nezu Museum, The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China: Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics, and Metalwares, Tokyo, 2004, Catalogue, no. 44. 

This design is also seen in Southern Song silver ware such as the one from the Sichuan Provincial Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo jinyin boli falangqi quanji (Compendium of Chinese Silver, Glass, and Lacquer Wares), Hebei, 2004, vol. 2, p, 168, no. 300 'fig.1).

fig. 1 A silver tixi-style meiping, Southern Song Dynasty, Collection of the Sichuan Provincial Museum.

Christie's. THE CLASSIC AGE OF CHINESE CERAMICS - THE LINYUSHANREN COLLECTION, PART I, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall. 

Lot 2824. A Henan russet-splashed twin-handled jar, Northern Song-Jin dynasty, 12th century. Estimate HK$240,000-400,000 ($32,000-52,000). Unsold. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

spreading foot and towards the collar-like neck with lipped mouth. The exterior is covered with a lustrous black glaze liberally splashed in russet that thins to more of a caramel colour on the pair of loop handles and stops above the foot exposing the greyish-white body. The inside of the neck is glazed black while the remainder of the interior is covered with a thin glaze of dark caramel colour. 6¡ in. (16.3 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

Proenance: Kochukyo, Tokyo

Christie's. THE CLASSIC AGE OF CHINESE CERAMICS - THE LINYUSHANREN COLLECTION, PART I, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall.