The Xuande lobed bowl with ‘fish pond’ motifs, the Chenghua porcelain playthings, the Pilkington’s yellow-ground wares…… The series of spring auctions of Sotheby’s Hong Kong this year are occupied by Ming and Qing porcelains. Despite that, ‘Song Ceramics from a Distinguished Private Collector’, held on 5 April, will offer more than 30 Song and other early ceramics from prominent kilns. Assembled by a discerning collector from the 1980s to early 2000s, all the lots can date back to a clear history of collection.

Turquoise blue-colored, the tripod incense burner and the octagonal Buddhist ritual vessel are typical examples of Jun wares. The former additionally presents splashes of purple on its glaze. According to the auction house, in the early 12 the century potters began applying purplish-red materials derived from copper to the glaze before firing, resulting in patches of purple, lavender and tones of deep blue on the primary glaze. Though the color splashes were intended effects, potters could not fully control and anticipate the actual outcome after firing. In this sense, the beauty of such wares resembles nature itself.

Before acquired by the current owner, these two Jun ceramics came from the renowned antique dealer, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (1929-2014). He had extremely exquisite collections of Chinese arts, that part of them have been sold or donated to museums in America, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Another lot, the bottle vase from the kiln of Ding, is also one of the highlights of the sale. Surmounted by a tall neck of elegant cylindrical form, the sumptuous globular body of it bears carvings of the peony. It is wholly covered with a creamy-white glaze, which is the signature glaze color of Ding wares. It were formerly secured in the collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow; a comparable item is now preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing.

These three lots are the most expensive lots of the sale.

Top Lots

AN EXCEPTIONAL AND EXTREMELY RARE DINGYAO CARVED ‘PEONY’ BOTTLE VASE
NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

Lot: 3218
Height: 25 CM
Estimate: HK$8,000,000-12,000,000

A LARGE AND RARE JUNYAO PURPLE-SPLASHED TRIPOD INCENSE BURNER
JIN – YUAN DYNASTY

Lot: 3221
Height: 20.3  cm
Estimate: HK$1,000,000-1,500,000

AN EXTREMELY RARE JUNYAO OCTAGONAL BUDDHIST RITUAL VESSEL
JIN – YUAN DYNASTY

Lot: 3211
Height: 23.7 cm
Estimate: HK$800,000-1,200,000

Sales Details

Auction House: Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Sale: Song Ceramics from a Distinguished Private Collector
Sale No.: HK0726
Lots.: 32
Viewing:
2017/3/31  10am-5:30pm
2017/4/1-2  10am-8pm
2017/4/3-4  10am-6:30pm
Sale Time: 2017/4/5  11am