Lot 106. A rare large Longquan celadon barbed charger, Early Ming dynasty; 56.5 cm, 22 1/4 in. Estimate 250,000 — 300,000 HKD (31,850 - 38,220 USD). Photo: Sotheby's.
robustly potted with lobed shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot to broad everted barbed rim, subtly carved on the interior with a curling lotus spray, encircled by fruiting sprays and lotus florets on the cavetto and flat rim respectively, the exterior decorated with floral sprays, unctuously applied with an attractive olive-green glaze suffused with a network of crackles, save for an unglazed ring on the base left in the biscuit and burnt orange in the firing.
Note: The proceeds of the following lot will be used to endow a scholarship in the name of the late Julian Thompson (1941-2011), the former chairman of Sotheby's Asia, a great personal friend and advisor to Sir Quo-Wei Lee. The scholarship will fund an annual internship at Sotheby's for Hong Kong students of Chinese ceramics, giving them an opportunity to develop their interests and career.
The present charger is impressive for its large size and the finely rendered design of a curling lotus spray that is delicately enclosed within bands of scrolling flowers. It belongs to a group of high-quality Longquan celadon wares produced in the late 14th to early 15th centuries, characterised by their bold carved designs that are comparable to the blue and white porcelain of the period. During the early Ming dynasty, the Longquan kilns appear to have worked closely with the imperial porcelain kilns at Jingdezhen, thus making wares of similar form, decoration and quality
Another Longquan charger decorated with a flower head surrounded by a lotus meander on the interior and with the bajixiang at the well, is published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, 1986, vol. 1, pl. 245; one sold in these rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1519; another formerly in the Edward T. Chow and T.Y. Chao collections, sold in our London rooms, 16th December 1980, lot 329, and again in these rooms, 19th May 1987, lot 219.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2018, 10:10 AM