Footnotes

南宋 龍泉窯堆塑蟠龍蓮瓣紋蓋瓶

Provenance:
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 622
Eskenazi Ltd., London
Sotheby's London, 8 November 2006, lot 53
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020), Athens and London

Published and Illustrated:
J.Thompson, 'Chinese Celadons', Arts of Asia, Hong Kong, November-December 1993, p.60, fig.1 (left)
D.Priestley and M.Flacks, A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics, London, 2017, pp.122-123, no.55

來源：
香港蘇富比，1996年11月5日，拍品編號622
倫敦古董商埃斯卡納齊
倫敦蘇富比，2006年11月8日，拍品編號53
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020)，雅典和倫敦

著錄：
朱湯生，《Chinese Celadons》，《Arts of Asia》，香港，1993年11至12月，第60頁，圖1（左）
D.Priestley和M.Flacks，《A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics》，倫敦，2017年，第122-123頁，編號55

Longquan celadon-glazed 'funerary' jars such as the present lot, would have originally been made in pairs: one bearing the 'Green Dragon of the East' and the other the 'White Tiger of the West'. All the animals and beasts on the jars represented the cardinal directions. A pair in the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Song Ceramics: Objects of Admiration, London, 2003, pl.35. These jars would have been filled with offerings of grain and placed in the tomb at the cardinal directions.

For other related examples of Longquan celadon 'funerary' jars and covers with dragons and tigers, see also R.Kerr, Song Dynasty Ceramics, London, 2004, pl.85 and p.95. Various other examples are illustrated in Longquan yao qingci, Taipei, 1998, pp.132-138; and Zhongguo Longquan qingci, Hangzhou, 1998, pl.76. Another related Longquan celadon 'dragon' jar and cover, Southern Song dynasty, is illustrated in Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1994, pp.150-151, no.57.

Compare with a similar Longquan celadon funerary jar and cover, Southern Song dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 14 May 2008, lot 312. Another related jar and cover, Southern Song dynasty, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 September 2015, lot 113. Another similar Longquan celadon 'dragon' jar, Southern Song dynasty, was sold at Christie's New York, 24 September 2021, lot 722.

See also a similar Longquan celadon jar and cover, Southern Song dynasty, which was also illustrated by J.Thompson, 'Chinese Celadons', Arts of Asia, Hong Kong, November-December 1993, p.60, fig.1, and which was later sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 616.