A rare underglaze-red vase (yuhuchunping), Yuan dynasty - Sotheby's
of classic pear shape, the well-potted sides painted and resist-decorated with two detached chrysanthemum blossoms borne on long leafy stems, below a border of stiff upright lappets enclosed between wide bands, the red on the leaves, centers of the flowers, parts of the lappets and shoulder band fired to a pinkish red, other areas fired to a grayish brown, applied overall with a pale green-gray glaze. Height 9 1/8 in., 23 cm. Estimation: 18,000 - 22,000 USD
PROVENANCE: Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth.
Sotheby's New York, 30th March 2006, lot 62.
NOTE: It is very rare to find vases similarly painted and also resist-decorated with floral scrolls in underglaze copper-red, although a related vase is illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 11, Shanghai, 2000, no. 234.
A number of yuhuchunping painted in underglaze copper-red with chrysanthemum scrolls around the sides are known, such as the vase of similar size in the British Museum with chrysanthemum sprays and 'penciled' petals and leaves painted in solid red, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, Tokyo, 1981, Vol. 5, col.pl.74; the vase painted in a heavier brush with chrysanthemums and double lines on the pointed panels around the neck, in the Museum Pusat, Jakarta, illustrated op.cit., Vol. 3, Tokyo, 1982, col.pl. 79; and the vase with penciled chrysanthemums illustrated in Keitokuchin Jiki, p. 34 (right), excavated in Leping County, Jiangxi province, and now in the Jingdezhen Ceramic Museum.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 www.sothebys.com