A CIZHOU SGRAFFIATO BLACK-GLAZED VASE, JIN

A CIZHOU SGRAFFIATO BLACK-GLAZED GLOBULAR VASE, JIN OR XI XIA
China, 12th-13th century. The globular vase with a short flaring neck and everted lip, covered in a lustrous black glaze stopping before the foot to reveal the buff ware. The body is decorated with a broad band of scrolling leaves neatly executed in sgraffiato technique.

Provenance: Ming House, Hong Kong. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above in 1999 (invoice not available). Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era. In 2013, he published an extensive study of Chinese riding gear in "Dragon & Horse, Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond". Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and firing irregularities.

Weight: 595.3 g
Dimensions: Height 13.2 cm

The very difficult technique used to produce the finely balanced design on this vase was developed at the Cizhou kilns in the Northern Song dynasty. It involved the application of a pale slip to the unfired stoneware vessel, followed by a dark slip. The outline of the decoration was then incised through the dark top layer and the background area of the design was cut away to reveal the pale slip beneath. Details, such as stamens and leaf veins, were also incised through the dark upper layer either with a fine-point or a comb-like instrument. The thin colorless glaze could then be applied and the vessel fired.

Literature comparison: R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Vols. I, London 1994, no. 453, p. 250. R. Mowry, Hare's Fur, shell, and Partridge Feathers. Chinese brown- and black-glaze ceramics, 400-1400, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge (MA) 1996, no. 67, p. 189.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related but significantly larger vase sold by Sotheby's New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 18 March 2008, lot 77, for USD $31,000.

磁州窯黑釉剔花紋罐，金或西夏
中國，十二至十三世紀。鼓腹，短頸，小口外翻，黑釉剔花。

來源：香港Ming House收藏；Drs. Koos de Jong收藏，1999年購於上述收藏（發票已遺失）。Drs. de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家， 幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書，內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。 2013年，他在《Dragon & Horse：Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間，他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作，並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。
品相：品相極好，輕微磨損與燒製瑕疵

重量：595.3 克
尺寸：高13.2 厘米

拍賣結果比較：一個相似但要大很多的罐子于2008年3月18日紐約蘇富比《中國陶瓷與工藝品》拍號77，成交價USD $31,000。