Wednesday 11 February, 10:00
Meet the Specialists
Tiago Cordeiro-Soares 沈庭之
Head of Asian Art Department
亞洲藝術品部主管 tiago@chiswickauctions.co.uk
+44 (0)20 3089 6864
Sam Howard 侯霍琛
Asian Art Specialist
亞洲藝術部專家 sam.howard@chiswickauctions.co.uk
+44 (0)20 3089 6866
Ally Ching Hang Ho 何靖恆
Senior Department Coordinator
亞洲藝術部統籌 ally@chiswickauctions.co.uk
+44 (0)20 3089 6891
Highlights for the upcoming sale
Asian Art
Wednesday 11 February, 10:00 including the Santos Collection of Early Ceramics
A
Chinese Longquan celadon 'floral' carved stem cup
清康熙 青花高士圖蒜頭瓶 青花《大明成化年製》楷書款
Yuan - Early Ming dynasty
The finely potted stem cup of small proportions, rising from a tall, ribbed stem foot with rounded sides rising to a slightly everted rim, carved on the interior with scroll work and on the exterior with stylised floral sprays, overall with a lustrous sea-green glaze.
7.5cm diameter, 10cm high
Provenance:
Santos Collection
Notes:
For a similar cup, please refer to Rev G.A.S. Schneider bequest now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession no. C.1-1942.
For examples sold at auction, please refer to, Christie's, Hong Kong, 7 June 2022, lot 3116
Estimate: £500 - 700
A Chinese Longquan celadon 'twin fish' moulded dish
宋 龍泉窰青釉貼雙魚折沿盤
Song dynasty
The finely potted shallow dish with rising from a short tapering foot, with gently rounded sides and everted rim, the exterior carved with lotus petals, the interior applied with a pair of scaly fish swimming in opposite directions, covered in a bluish-green glaze. 12.5cm diameter
Provenance: Wilfrid Fleisher (1897-1976), Sweden, thence by descent in the family; Santos Collection
The Fleisher Collection was formed by Wilfrid Fleisher, whose father Ben Fleisher moved from his native United States to Japan where he in 1908 started the first English-language newspaper, soon to become the most influential English-language newspaper in the Far East. Wilfrid grew up in Japan and worked as Editorin-Chief on The Japan Advertiser. He became interested in Chinese and Japanese works of art early on and amassed a substantial collection during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly ceramics and jades. At the outbreak of the Second World War the Fleishers had to leave Japan and, later, Wilfrid and his family settled down in Sweden. The collection has been handed on in the family and part of it is now being offered for sale.
Estimate: £600 - 800
A fine Chinese Dehua 'hehe erxian' group
清康熙 德化白釉和合二仙像
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period
The finely modelled group depicting the 'hehe erxian' twins standing atop a table-form base, one clutching a feather in his hand.
10cm high
Provenance: Santos Collection
Notes:
For a closely related example please refer to the Porzellansammlungen, Dresden, illustrated in P. J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine. The Porcelain of Tehua in Fukien, London, 1969, pl. 159a; and two examples included in the Exhibition of Blanc de Chine, S. Marchant and Son, London, 1994, cat. nos 32 and 33. Please also refer to another identical fine example sold at Sotheby's, London, 5 November 2008, lot 338
Estimate: £400 - 600
A rare Vietnamese 'fish' water dropper 15th century
The finely potted water dropper in the form of a fish, likely a puffer fish, decorated to the exterior in underglaze blue with small opening at the top and at the mouth of the fish. 8cm wide
Provenance:
Treasures From The Hoi An Hoard, Important Vietnamese Ceramics from a late 15th/ early 16th century Cargo. Butterfield`s, 11th - 13th October 2000 [label]; Santos Collection
Notes:
Please find several housed in instutions including, one in the Art Institute of Chicago, accession no.2006.5; another housed in the Portland Art Museum, accession no. 2016.123.1
Please refer to Treasures From The Hoi An Hoard, Important Vietnamese Ceramics from a late 15th/early 16th century Cargo. Butterfield`s, 11th - 13th October 2000
Estimate: £400 - 600
A Chinese Jian black-glazed bowl
宋 建窰黑釉斗笠盌
Song dynasty
The robustly potted bowl of conical form, rising from a short foot, covered overall with a glossy black-glaze stopped short of the foot revealing the exposed clay body.
11.5cm diameter
Provenance:
Santos Collection
Notes:
This present bowl is illustrated in Santos, A. Varela, Tang to Qing Ceramics, 2017/2018 catalogue, cat. 15.
Estimate: £500 - 700
A Chinese Dehua 'prunus' libation cup
清 德化白釉梅花盃
Qing dynasty
The finely potted libation cup of oval form and everted rim, supported by prunus branches forming the base of the cup, on the sides with moulded prunus decoration. 8cm wide, 5cm high
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £600 - 800
A Chinese Jun purple-splashed dish
北宋至金 鈞窰藍釉紫斑盤
Northern Song - Jin dynasty
The finely potted dish of shallow form, rising from a very short foot, the interior decorated with a large purple-splash to the center of the dish, overall covered with a blue-green glaze that falls short of the foot revealing the body on the underside, the rim restored with Japanese lacquer in two sections. 15.5cm diameter
Provenance:
Gustav Wallenberg, grandfather of Raoul Wallenberg, Sweden, sold by the family in 2012; Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a dish of similar form and decoration from the Muwen Tang Collection, sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 6 April 2015, lot 115
Estimate: £600 - 800
A Chinese Jian black-glazed bowl
南宋 建窰黑釉盌
Song dynasty
The robustly potted bowl of small proportion, rising from a short foot, covered overall with a glossy black-glaze stopped short of the foot revealing the dark clay body.
9.6cm diameter
Provenance:
Santos Collection
Estimate: £700 - 900
A small Chinese Qingbai 'lotus' carved dish
北宋 青白釉刻蓮紋盤
Southern Song dynasty
The finely potted dish or washer of shallow form, with slightly flared sides, the interior carved with a stylised lotus pattern to the well, overall covered with a pale blue-green glaze stopping short of the rim revealing the white body. 10.5cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
This present dish is illustrated in Santos, A. Varela, Tang to Qing Ceramics, 2017/2018 catalogue, cat. 18
Notes:
Please refer to a very similar dish sold at Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 2023, lot 727
Estimate: £800 - 1,200
A
Chinese Qingbai 'fish' moulded dish
南宋 青白釉印魚紋盤
Southern Song dynasty
The finely potted dish or washer of shallow form, with slightly flared sides, the interior moulded to the well and rim with fishes swimming against a current, overall covered with a pale blue-green glaze stopping short of the rim revealing the white body. 14cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a pair of dishes of similar form and pattern sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 26 May 2021, lot 474; another pair from the Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978) collection sold at Christie's, New York, 11-29 June 2021; another single dish of the same pattern also sold at Christie's, London, 7 November 2012, lot 440
Estimate: £800 - 1,200
A Chinese Yue celadon 'lotus' washer
宋 越窰青釉刻蓮瓣紋洗
Song dynasty
The finely potted washer of shallow form, the interior decorated with carved decoration depicting a dragon and a carp swimming among a lotus leaf, the exterior with a petal border, the base unglazed revealing the body to the underside. 13.6cm diameter
Provenance:
Tai Sing Fine Antiques Ltd, Hong Kong, 5th June 2004; Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 29 May 2019, lot 317 (one of two); Santos Collection
Estimate: £800 - 1,200
A Chinese Qingbai 'lotus' carved dish
南宋 青白釉刻蓮紋盤
Southern Song dynasty
The finely potted dish or washer of shallow form, with slightly flared sides, the interior carved with a stylised lotus pattern to the well, overall covered with a pale blue-green glaze stopping short of the rim revealing the white body. 11.7cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
This present dish is illustrated in Santos, A. Varela, Tang to Qing Ceramics, 2017/2018 catalogue, cat. 19.
Notes:
Please refer to a very similar dish sold at Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 2023, lot 727
Estimate: £800 - 1,200
A small Chinese Jun purple-splashed dish
金至元 鈞窰藍釉紫斑盤
Jin - Yuan dynasty
The small dish of shallow form rising from a short foot, with flared side and wide flat rim, the well of the dish and part of the rim decorated with a purple-spash, overall covered with a sky-blue glaze thining at the edges revealing the pale body underneath the glaze, the glaze stopping short of the foot, revealing the unglazed body on the underside. 11.5cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a similar dish of similar form and decoration, sold at Christie's, New York, 21 March 2025, lot 1041; another at Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 28 July 2020, lot 123
Estimate: £800 - 1,200
A Chinese Qingbai 'lotus' carved lobed dish 南宋 青白釉刻蓮紋葵口盌
Southern Song dynasty
The finely potted lobed dish or washer, with a slightly flared rim, the interior carved with a stylised design of lotus flowers to the well, overall covered with a pale blue-green glaze stopping short of the rim revealing the white body. 13.7cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
This present dish is illustrated in Santos, A. Varela, Tang to Qing Ceramics, 2017/2018 catalogue, cat. 21
Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500
A Chinese Jian black-glazed bowl
宋 建窰黑釉盌
Song dynasty
The robustly potted bowl of small proportion, rising from a short foot, covered overall with a glossy black-glaze stopped short of the foot revealing the exposed clay body. 9.2cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,000 - 2,000
A Chinese Qingbai 'peony' carved bowl
南宋 青白釉刻牡丹紋笠式盌
Southern Song dynasty
The finely potted bowl of conical form rising from a short foot with a six-lobed rim, the interior decorated with freely carved spray of a large peony, overall covered with a pale blue-green glaze. 19.8cm diameter
Provenance:
Santos Collection
This present bowl is illustrated in Santos, A. Varela, Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, 2018/2019, cat. 2
Notes:
See a similar bowl from the Reach Family Collection, similarly carved with a flowering peony on the interior within its six-lobed rim, illustrated in Chinese Art from the Reach Family collection, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1989, cat. no. 28 and eventually sold at Christie's, New York,20 September 2013, lot 1508; another from the Claire & Francis Heritage Lane collection sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 27 November 2020, lot 309
Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500
A Chinese Longquan celadon 'floral' jarlet
宋至明 龍泉青釉劃花小蓋罐
Song - Ming dynasty
The finely potted jarlet of squat bulbous form with a flat cover, decorated to the exterior with an incised petal design and the cover depicting a large blossom, the interior of the jarlet glazed and the inside of the lid part-glazed, the underside revealing the body. 11cm diameter, 5cm high
Provenance:
Tai Sing Fine Antiques Ltd, Hong Kong, 18th October 2001; Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 29 May 2019, lot 317 (one of two);
Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500
A small rare Chinese Dehua beaker vase
明至清 德化白釉花觚
Ming - Qing dynasty
The finely potted slender vase with a rounded central bulbous section rising to an everted rim, overall covered in a fine white glaze, the base unglazed. 12cm high
Provenance:
Mallie & Co., Paris [label]; Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,000 - 2,000
A
Chinese
Henan black-glazed washer
宋 河南窰黑釉洗
Song dynasty
The finely potted shallow washer or dish, with a flat base and flaring sides, covered overall with a black glaze covering the base, side and interior and stopping short of the rim revealing a white band of the exposed clay. 12.5cm diameter
Provenance: Blitz Oriental Art, Amsterdam [label]; Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,000 - 1,200
A Chinese Dehua bombe censer
清康熙 德化白釉鋪首耳簋式爐
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period
The compressed body raised on a flared foot and set with a pair of moulded lion mask handles, covered in a milky-white glaze, the base with an impressed seals marks of ' Yan' and 'Ji Heng', with a Japanese wood box and cover (tomobako). 15cm wide, 6.5cm high
Provenance: Japanese private collection; Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,500 - 2,500
A fine pair of small Chinese Qingbai 'floral' carved dishes 南宋 青白釉刻蓮紋盤 一對
Southern Song dynasty
The finely potted pair of dishes or washers of shallow form, with slightly flared rims, the interior with carved decoration of stylised floral sprays, overall covered in a pale bluegreen glaze stopping short of the rim revealing the white body. 9.1cm diameter; 9.2cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
These present dishes are illustrated in Santos, A. Varela, Tang to Qing Ceramics, 2017/2018 catalogue, cat. 20.
Notes:
Please refer to a very similar dish sold at Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 2023, lot 727
Estimate: £1,000 - 2,000
A small Chinese Yaozhou celadon 'fish' moulded bowl 北宋 耀州青窰水波游魚紋盌
Northern Song dynasty
The finely and delicately potted conical bowl with steep rounded sides rising to a gently everted rim, the interior elaborately moulded with four scaly fish swimming amidst dense foaming waves, the centre decorated with a seashell, the exterior with radiating ribbed design, covered overall with a pale olive-green glaze. 10cm diameter
Provenance: Private collection; Sotheby's, New York, New York, 16 September 2017, lot 963 (one of two); Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a similar bowl of form and design from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection sold at Sotheby's, London, 3 November 2021, lot 110; another from the collection of Wilfred Fleisher, sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 March 2024, lot 302; another from the collection of Peter Tcherepnine, sold at Christie's, New York, 9 December 2020, lot 117; another from the Feng Wen Tang collection, sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 9 October 2014, lot 102
Estimate: £1,500 - 2,500
A Chinese Dehua 'prunus' teapot and cover, 過渡期至清順治 / 康熙 德化白釉梅花茶壺
Transitional - Qing dynasty, Shunzhi - Kangxi period
The finely potted teapot and cover of small proportions, with a bulbous body and short neck, the the body decorared with moulded flowering prunus on the exterior and the lid with a single blossom on top forming the knop, the base unglazed. 10cm high
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,500 - 2,500
A rare Chinese Qingbai water dropper, 宋 青白釉鱗紋水注
Song dynasty
The finely potted water dropper of bulbous form moulded with a scally body, the top knop formed as intertwined brances with leaves and a single flower form, with a ribbed short spout, the top with a small hole, covered overall with a light blue glaze stopping short of the base revealing the exposed body. 8cm high
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,500 - 2,500
A Chinese Cizhou black-glazed bowl
宋至金 磁州窰黑釉盌
Song - Jin dynasty
The robustly potted bowl rising from a short foot and with a slightly incurved rim, decorated to the interior with a glossy black-glaze with russet-splashed radating from the rim, the exterior with the glaze stopped halfway down the body revealing the unglaze underside.
13cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £1,500 - 2,500
A Chinese Longquan celadon 'twin fish' moulded dish
宋 龍泉窰青釉貼雙魚折沿盤
Song dynasty
The finely potted shallow dish with rising from a short tapering foot, with gently rounded sides and everted rim, the exterior carved with lotus petals, the interior applied with a pair of scaly fish swimming in opposite directions, covered in a bluish-green glaze. 14cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
This present dish is also illustrated in Santos, A. Varela. Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, 2018/2019. cat. 1
Estimate: £1,500 - 2,500
A fine Chinese white-glazed 'linglong' reticulated bowl
明崇禎 白釉鏤雕花卉紋盌 青花《大明成化年製》款
Ming dynasty, Chongzhen period
The very finely potted white-glazed bowl, the bowl rising from a short foot to flared side which are reticulated and with perforated 'linglong' decoration depicting roundels of lotus flowers, the base bearing a six-character Chenghua mark. 9.3cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A
Chinese Longquan celadon stem cup / bowl
元至明初 龍泉窰青釉高足盌
Yuan - Early Ming dynasty
The finely potted stem cup or bowl, raised on a tall flaring bamboo-shaped foot, with an everted rim, overall covered with an even olive-green glaze, stopping short of the foot ring burnt orange. 12cm diameter, 11cm high
Provenance:
Wilfrid Fleisher (1897-1976), thence by descent in the family; Uppsala Auktionskammare, Sweden, 10 December 2021, lot 1049; Santos Collection
Please refer to a similar stemcup bequeathed by Dame Ada MacNaghten and housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, acession no. FE.18-1970; several also housed in the British Museum, including one from the Seligman Collection accession no. 1973,0726.312 and also acession no. 1943,0215.9
For examples sold at auction, please refer to; Christie's, New York, 24 September 2021, lot 836; another from the collection of Roy Louis Byrnes sold at Sotheby's, New York, 23 September 2020, lot 504; another sold at Bonhams, London, 15 May 2014, lot 15
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A Chinese Jian black-glazed bowl
宋 建窰黑釉盌
Song dynasty
The robustly potted bowl of small proportion, rising from a short foot, covered overall with a glossy black-glaze stopped short of the foot revealing the exposed clay body. 9.2cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500
A large Chinese Longquan celadon 'peony' charger
明 龍泉青釉牡丹紋盤
Ming Dynasty
The finely potted charger of large proportions, decorated to interior floral cartouches and characters, the well decorated with large peony blossom. 49cm diameter
Provenance: Otto Bernheimer, Munich; South German collection, purchase from the above in April 1938; Santos Collection This present bowl is illustrated in Santos, A. Varela, Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, 2018/2019, cat. 2
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A Chinese black-glazed 'oil spot' lotus bud-form waterpot
金至元
黑釉油滴蓮苞式水盂
Jin - Yuan dynasty
The robustly potted waterpot in the form of a lotus bud with a bulbous body rising from a short foot and incurved rim, overall covered with a glossy black-glaze with 'oil spots', the foot left unglazed revealing the buff body. 9cm high
Provenance: Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a similar example sold at Sotheby's, New York, 17 September 2025, lot 141
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A
Chinese Yaozhou celadon 'chrysanthemum' moulded bowl
北宋 耀州青釉印菊紋盌
Northern Song dynasty
The finely potted bowl of conical form with a slightly everted rim, decorated on the interior with chrysanthemum medallions on a scrolling foliate ground, the exterior incised with radiating lines, covered overall save for the footring in an olive-green glaze. 13cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Notes:
For a similar bowl, please refer to Christie's, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018, lot 22; another from the legacy of Hirano Kotoken sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 8 April 2023, lot 3533
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A fine Chinese Jun blue-glazed dish
北宋至金 鈞窰天藍釉盤
Northern Song - Jin dynasty
The finely potted dish of shallow form rising from a short foot with a short flaring rim, covered in an overall blue-glaze, the foot revealing some of the body on the underside. 15.7cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to dishes of similar form, one from the Collection of Robin Renton sold at Sotheby's, London, 5 November 2025, lot 14; another from the Collection of Dr. Maurice Berger sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 March 2024, lot 503; another from the Collection of Dr. Hiroshi Horiuchi, sold at Christie's, New York, 22 September 2023, lot 1009; another at Christie's, Hong Kong, 2 October 2017, lot 99
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A fine Chinese Henan russet-splashed black-glazed bowl
宋 河南窰黑釉褐斑盞
Song dynasty
The finely potted bowl of shallow form, rising from a short foot, the interior decorated with three russet-splashes radiating from the incurving rim, applied with a glossy blackglaze falling short of the foot revealing the buff-coloured body. 18.5cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A Chinese Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty 清十九世紀 德化白釉觀音立像
19th century
The finely modelled figure of Guanyin depicted seated with one leg raised, the left arm raised holding a ruyi scroll, wearing long robes opening at the chest to reveal a beaded necklace, the face with a benevolent expression, the base modelled as a rocky formation. 25cm high
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500
A fine and large Chinese Jun purple-splashed bowl 金至元 鈞窰天藍釉紫斑盌
Jin - Yuan dynasty
The large and impressive purple-splashed jun bowl, rising from a short foot and of deep, rounded conical form with a slightly incurved rim, decorated to interior with a single purple-splash, overall covered with a sky-blue glaze thining at the rim and falling short of the foot on the underside revealing the unglazed body. 18.3cm diameter
Provenance: Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a similar bowl sold at Sotheby's, London, 1 - 8 November 2023, lot 319; another in New York, 19 September 2023, lot 782; another from the Collection of Roy Louis Byrnes, New York, 12 June - 24 June 2020, lot 840; another sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 11 November 2025, lot 1263
Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000
A fine Chinese Yaozhou celadon 'waves' carved dish
北宋 耀州青釉刻花小盤
Northern Song dynasty
The finely potted dish of shallow form, the interior carved and combed with turbulent waves, the exterior decorated with a single incised line, covered overall with an attractive olive-green glaze, stopping neatly in a circle around the base exposing the body, together with a Japanese wood box and cover (tomobako). 12.5cm diameter
Provenance:
From a Japanese private collection, purchased in Tokyo, 1986; Sotheby's, New York, 18 March 2017, lot 1368; Santos Collection
This present dish is also illustrated in Santos, A. Varela. Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, 2018/2019. cat. 9
Notes:
Please refer to an identical dish housed in the Kyoto National Museum, museum no. GK604 and another illustrated by Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, pl. 420.
For examples sold at auction, please refer to; one from the legacy of Hirano Kotoken sold at Sotheby's, 8 April 2023, lot 3715; another from the collection of Charlotte Horstman, sold at Sotheby's, New York, 16 September 2017, 962; another from the Linyushanren collection, sold at Christie's, New York, 15 September 2016, lot 702: another at Christie's, New York, 19 March 2008, lot 535; another at Christie's, Hong Kong, 27 November 2013, lot 3274
Estimate: £3,000 - 5,000
A fine and rare Chinese Longquan celadon washer
南宋 龍泉青釉洗
Southern Song dynasty
The small and finely potted washer of shallow form, rising from a low tapered foot and with flaring sides to an everted rim, overall covered in a translucent sea-green glaze that stops neatly at the foot reveleaving the grey body, together with a japanese wood box and cover (tomobako).
9cm diameter
Provenance:
The esteemed collection of Tsuneichi Inoue, Japan; Sotheby's, The Soul of Japanese Aesthetics - The Tsuneichi Inoue Collection, London, 13 May 2015, lot 44;
Santos Collection
Notes:
For examples of this type, please refer to a slightly larger example from the Lingyushanren sold at Christie's, New York, 22 March 2018, lot 529; another also from Lingyushanren sold at Christie's, New York, 13 September 2019, lot 1045; another from the Yangdetang collection, also sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3129; another from the legacy of Hirano Kotoken, sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 8 April 2023, lot 3516
Estimate: £3,000 - 5,000
A fine Chinese Jian black-glazed 'hare's fur' 'tenmoku' tea bowl
南宋 建窰兔毫禾目天目茶盞
Southern Song dynasty
The fine and robustly potted bowl with deep sides rising to an indented rim, covered overall in a black-glaze with cascading russet 'hare's fur' streaks and pooling short of the foot, revealing the purple-tinged brown body. 12.8cm diameter
Provenance: Japanese private collection; Santos Collection
This present bowl is illustrated in Santos, A. Varela. Tang to Qing Ceramics, 2017/2018 catalogue, cat. 11.
Notes:
Please note a similar bowl sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 September 2023, lot 770; another example with a silver rim sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 March 2024, lot 499; another from the Linyushanren collection sold at Christie's, 2 December 2015, lot 2028; another from the Yangdetang collection sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3156
Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000
A small Chinese Yaozhou celadon 'fish' moulded bowl 北宋 耀州青窰水波游魚紋盌
Northern Song dynasty
The finely and delicately potted conical bowl with steep rounded sides rising to a gently everted rim, the interior elaborately moulded with four scaly fish swimming amidst dense foaming waves, the centre decorated with a seashell, the exterior with radiating ribbed design, covered overall with a pale olive-green glaze. 10.4cm diameter
Provenance: Private collection; Sotheby's, New York, New York, 16 September 2017, lot 963 (one of two); Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a similar bowl of form and design from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection sold at Sotheby's, London, 3 November 2021, lot 110; another from the collection of Wilfred Fleisher, sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 March 2024, lot 302; another from the collection of Peter Tcherepnine, sold at Christie's, New York, 9 December 2020, lot 117; another from the Feng Wen Tang collection, sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 9 October 2014, lot 102
Estimate: £1,000 - 2,000
A
fine Chinese Jizhou 'papercut' 'prunus' bowl
南宋 吉州窰剪紙貼花梅花紋盌
Southern Song dynasty
The robustly potted conical form bowl, with deep gently rounded sides rising from a tapered short foot to a slightly indented rim, the interior resist-decorated with two rows of papercut plum blossom florets reserved in a rich dark brown glaze against a variegated buff ground, the exterior covered with a black glaze falling short of the foot to expose the unglazed buff-colored stoneware body dressed in a thin layer of brick-red wash.
11.5cm diameter
Provenance:
Santos Collection
Notes:
For an very similar bowl in form and design, please refer to one from the Peter Scheinman collection, sold at Christie's, New York, 14 September 2018, lot 1304
Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500
A rare Chinese Yaozhou celadon 'butterfly' moulded dish 宋 耀州窰青釉印蝶戀花紋盤
Song dynasty
The finely potted dish of shallow form rising from a short foot into a shallow form, the interior decorated with four butterflies with a central stylised floral motif, overall covered with a pale olive-green glaze stopping short of the base of the foot, revealing the exposed body. 14cm wide
Provenance: Santos Collection
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A small fine Chinese Yaozhou celadon 'chrysanthemum' moulded bowl
北宋至金 耀州青釉印菊紋盌
Southern Song dynasty
The finely potted bowl of conical form conical form with an everted rim, the interior molded with chrysanthemum medallions on a scrolling foliate ground encircling a central blossom. 10.5cm diameter
Provenance: Private collection; Sotheby's, New York, 18 March 2017, lot 1046; Santos Collection
Notes:
Please refer to a similar bowl from the legacy of Hirano Kotoken, sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 8 April 2023, lot 3533; another sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 18 November - 3 December 2024, lot 5760; another sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 25 November 2022, lot 426 and another of similar proportions, sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 3203
Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000
A rare Chinese Beishoku celadon lobed washer, 南宋至元
米黃釉菊瓣洗
Southern Song - Yuan dynasty
The finely potted 'beishoku' celadon washer, with a broad flat base and curving lobed sides, covered in a rice husk-coloured glaze, the interior showcasing a ring pooling at the well emphasing a warm green tone where the glaze has pooled, the glaze thinning to browner tones along the extremeties, the recessed base revealing the red clay body, together with a Japanese wood box and cover (tomobako). 11.5cm diameter
Provenance:
Private collection
Notes:
For wares of this type sold at auction, please refer to: a bottle vase and stand sold at Sotheby's, New York, 18 September 2024, lot 231; another small bowl sold at Bonham's, New York, 16 September 2024, lot 35; a 'twin fish' dish sold at Christie's, New York, 22 September 2023, lot 1059; another small shallow dish from the Collection of Claire and Francis Heritage, sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 27 November 2020, lot 328; a stem cup sold at Christie's, New York, 25 September 2020, 1811; a bowl dated to the Yuan dynasty and from the T.Y. Chao Familly Collection, sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 30 November 2017, lot 527; a censer sold at Christie's, New York, 15 September 2016, lot 718; a tripod censer sold at Christie's, New York, 19 September 2014, lot 745; a cup sold at Christie's, New York, 17 September 2010, lot 1342; another rare and exceptional vase from the Tsuneichi Collection sold at Sotheby's, London, 13 May 2015, lot 32.
Beishoku wares are a rare and refined group of Chinese ceramics distinguished by their subtle, warm-toned glazes, which evoke natural materials rather than overt decoration. The term beishoku (“rice coloured,” referring to the yellowish colour of raw, unhulled rice grains, as opposed to mise in Chinese, which is used to describe opaque whitish glazes reminiscent of boiled, hulled rice) was first coined by the collector-connoisseur Tsuneo Yonaiyama, consul of Hangzhou in the 1950s, who collected many sherds from the Jiaotanxia kiln site. Yonaiyama’s designation reflects a distinctly Japanese connoisseurial sensitivity to nuanced colour and surface, emphasizing tonal warmth and depth rather than brightness. Highly revered for centuries in Japan since the Song dynasty, beishoku wares were admired for their restrained elegance and tactile surfaces, qualities that resonated deeply with Japanese aesthetic ideals. Ceramics such as the present lot are most closely associated with the Guan and Longquan kilns, where carefully controlled firing conditions produced glazes of exceptional subtlety.
The present lobed washer displays an exceptional ‘ice-flake’ crackle beneath a glaze of remarkably rare, warm amber hues. These wares preserved with such yellowish glazes which were produced through oxidation rather than reduction during firing are extraordinarily scarce. The Japanese Zen aesthetic of wabi-sabi embraces imperfection, impermanence, and understated naturalness, qualities that are intrinsically embodied in beishoku wares. In the context of these wares, this philosophy is expressed through uneven glaze crackle, subdued earthen hues, and the so-called “beautiful accidents” that arise from the unpredictable conditions of the firing process. Each work thus becomes an affirmation of individuality and variance; no two pieces are ever identical, and this irreproducibility is central to their aesthetic and cultural value. With regard to the present lobed brush washer, the emergence of a distinct green circular ring within the well exemplifies precisely the kind of fortuitous and organic phenomenon that connoisseurs these rare guan-type wares have long held in the highest esteem. Far from being perceived as a flaw, such an occurrence is understood as a meaningful convergence of material, atmosphere, and chance, endowing the object with heightened poetic resonance. Significantly, the green manifestation assumes a circular form rather than appearing as a diffuse or random discolouration. This formal coherence amplifies both its visual impact and its symbolic potency. Within Zen Buddhist thought, the circle is a powerful and auspicious motif, signifying balance, harmony, and the cyclical nature of existence. It invites further association with the ensō, the Zen calligraphic circle drawn in a single, unbroken brushstroke which often intentionally imperfect in order to convey enlightenment, unity, and the boundless universe.
Estimate: £3,000 - 5,000
A rare blue and white 'dragon' 'dice' bowl
明宣德 青花海水龍紋缽 青花《大明宣德年製》楷書款
Bo, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period
The finely and robustly potted dice bowl, bo, with deep rounded sides and flat-cut rim, well-painted in intense and varying tones of underglaze blue with characteristic 'heaping and piling' on the exterior with two five-clawed dragons chasing one another through stylised ruyi cloud scrolls in mutual pursuit, all between a band of upright lotus petal lappets and a band of cresting waves, the interior painted in the well with a six-character mark in underglaze-blue within a double circle.
27.5cm diameter
Provenance:
From a German private collection, Cologne;
Notes:
Please compare this to a similar bowl from the estemeed collection of Sir Percival David now housed in the British Museum, accession no. PDF B640 and on display permanently in the gallery (G95/dc18/sh7) and also illustrated in, Pierson, Stacey. Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 2004, p. 86, no. B640; Medley, Margaret. Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains, 1976, p. 62, no. B640, pl. XIII; Pierson, Stacey. Blue and White for China: Porcelain Treasures in the Percival David Collection, 2004, pp. 58-59, no. 21; Medley, Margaret. Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, Volume 7, 1975, pl. 97; another housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession no. C.310-1951 and in illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 148; another housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, pl. 124; another two in the National Palace Museum in Taipei accession no.004240N000000000 and 004241N000000000, also ncluded in the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, National Palace Museum,Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 37; another in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., also published in ibid., vol. 10, pl. 104; another housed in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo and illustrated in Tōru Nakano, The Panoramic Views of Chinese Patterns, Tokyo, 1985, pl. 13
For similar closely related examples sold at auctions, please refer to one sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 09 April 2006, lot 1659; and another sold at Sotheby's, New York, 23 March 2022, lot 253; another previously in the Wu Lai-Hsi collection, sold in Sotheby's, London, 26th May 1937, lot 52 and then again in 8th May 1951, lot 69, from the collection of C. M. Woodbridge; another from the collection of Major Lindsay F. Hay sold at Sotheby's, London, 16th June 1939, lot 84; another bowl of this form, included in the exhibition of Ming Blue and White, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, 1964, cat. no. 31 and on loan to the museum between 1964 and 1974, sold at Sotheby's, 6th April 1976, lot 116; further examples include, Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 10 April 2006, lot 1659; Christie's, New York, 9 November 1981, lot 117; Christie's, Hong Kong, 20 March 1990, lot 519, Christie's, London, 18 June 2002, lot 187.
Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000
A large Chinese blue and white ‘grape’ dish
北宋至金 耀州青釉印菊紋盌
Ming dynasty, Jiajing period
The finely potted large dish with rounded sides, rising from a short tapered foot to a wide everted rim, the interior richly decorated in cobalt-blue with a central medallion enclosing a large leafy bunch of grapes and further encircled at the wide rim with the beribonned embles which are interpersed with floral sprays, the exterior further decorated with fruiting sprays beneath a band of flowering prunus branches.
44.5cm diameter
Provenance:
Sotheby's, London, 5 November 2014, lot 100:
Private collection
Notes:
Please refer to a similar dish housed in the Santos Palace in Lisbon and mounted in the famous conical ceiling, illustrated in Déléry, Claire, and Huei-Chung Tsao. Chinese Porcelains of the Santos Palace. Lienart: MNAAG, 2021, pp. 150-151, another illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelains, London, 1986, pl. 884; another in Ridho. Padang, Sumatra, National Museum collection, Jakarta.1977, fig. 271, inv. 653; another in De Matos, Pinto. Amaral Cabral Collection, Lisbon. 1997, pp. 76-77, cat. 17 (formerly in the Helena Hortega Collection); another in Miedema. Princessehof Museum Collection. 1964, K3, inv. GRV 1929-035 (formerly in the Reinier Verbeek Collection): another in the Van Tilburg Collection, University of Pretoria, inv. 293074.
Estimate: £3,000 - 5,000
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