A Longquan celadon cong vase, Southern Song dynasty | 南宋　龍泉青釉琮式瓶

Collection of Baron Mototsura Cho (1890-1954).

Cho danshakuke zohin nyusatsu mokuroku [Auction catalogue of the Cho Baron family collection], Kanazawa Art Club, Kanazawa, 26th April 1934, lot 54.

5th Anniversary Exhibition. All-Stars of the Okada Collection: Masterworks of Korin, Jakuchu, Hokusai and the Ru Ware Kilns, Okada Museum of Art, Hakone, 2018-19, exh. no. 104 (unillustrated).

During the Song dynasty, a fervent revival of antiquarian tastes saw the creation of contemporary vessels modeled on ancient artifacts. This celadon cong-form vase is a masterful representation, meticulously emulating the shape and colors of Neolithic jade cong from the Liangzhu culture (circa 3300-2300 BC), establishing it as a paragon of Song ceramic artistry. See a jade cong, Liangzhu culture, housed in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Gems of Liangzhu Culture, Hong Kong Museum of History, 1992, cat. no. 57.

Compare several related examples of Longquan celadon cong vases in preeminent collections worldwide: one in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Longquan Qingci [Longquan Celadon], Beijing, 1966, pl.15; one in the Palace Museum, Taipei, featured in Illustrated Catalogue of Sung Dynasty Porcelain in the Palace Museum: Lung-ch'uan Ware, Ko Ware and Other Wares, Kyoto, 1974, pls. 8-9; and an excavated example from the Jinyu Village cache in Suining, Sichuan province, illustrated in Songyu: Sichuan jiaocang wenwu jicui [Song Yun: Selected Artifacts from Sichuan Hoards], Beijing, 2006, p. 252.

Notable institutional holdings include an example from the Eumorfopoulos Collection, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, pl.124; and a vase from the Oppenheim Collection in the British Museum, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, The British Museum Book of Chinese Art, London, 1992, pl. 8 (left).

Compare also several highly related examples sold in our rooms including four sold in our London rooms: a vase from the Toguri Collection was sold on 9th June 2004, lot 53; Baron Hatvany's esteemed vase, exhibited and illustrated in Song Ceramics, Southeast Asian Ceramic Society, Singapore, 1983, cat. no. 36, later sold on 5th November 1996, lot 605; another example was sold on 5th November 2014, lot 23, and the fourth example on 13th May 2015, lot 106, which was subsequently sold in these rooms on 1st April 2019, lot 3039. A further example was sold earlier in these rooms on 4th April 2012, lot 3122.

來源

長基連男爵（1890-1954年）收藏

《長男爵家藏品入札目錄》，金澤美術俱樂部，金澤，1934年4月26日，編號54

展覽

《開館5周年記念展―美のスターたち―光琳．若冲．北斎．汝窯など名品勢ぞろい》， 岡田美術館，箱根，2018-19年，展覽編號104（沒載圖）

宋代仿古風熾，常古器為範，製作時興器皿。如此式青釉琮式瓶即是以新石器時代良渚文化的玉琮為宗，形制與色澤且惟妙惟俏，堪稱宋代陶瓷典範。上海博物館藏一件重要玉琮可資參考，見香港歷史博物館，《良渚文化珍品展》，香港，1992年，編號57。

此類龍泉窰琮式瓶廣藏於世界頂級機構：一例見《龍泉青瓷》，北京，1966年，圖版15；台北故宮博物院藏一例載於《故宮宋瓷圖錄：龍泉窯．哥窯及其他》，京都，1974年，圖版8及9；一例出土於著名的四川遂寧金魚村窖藏，見《宋韻：四川窖藏文物輯粹》，北京，2006年，頁252。

其他著名藏品包括尤摩弗帕勒斯舊藏現歸倫敦維多利亞與阿爾伯特博物館者，刊於約翰·艾爾斯，《Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum》（維多利亞與阿爾伯特博物館藏遠東陶瓷），倫敦，1980年，圖版124；以及倫敦大英博物館藏奧本海默舊藏一例，見羅森，《The British Museum Book of Chinese Art》（大英博物館中國藝術圖錄），倫敦，1992年，圖版8（左）。

另可比較見諸市場數例：東洋文庫舊藏一例，2004年6月9日售於倫敦蘇富比，編號53；哈特瓦尼男爵舊藏一例，曾參展新加坡東南亞陶瓷學會，見《Song Ceramics》（宋瓷特展），新加坡，1983年，編號36，後於1996年11月5日在倫敦蘇富比釋出，編號605；及倫敦蘇富比2014年11月5日售出一件，編號23，及後2015年5月13日又售出一件類似琮式瓶，旋後於2019年4月1日售於香港蘇富比，編號3039；尚可比較香港蘇富比2012年4月4日售出一件，編號3122號。諸例皆彰顯龍泉青瓷於陶瓷史上恒久不衰的審美價值與歷史地位。