Footnotes

金/元 磁州窯白地黑釉剔花花卉紋罐

Provenance:
Mrs Otto (Gertrude) Harriman (1903-1970), and thence by descent
Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art, London
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020), Athens and London, acquired from the above on 7 November 2012

On loan:
Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery, 1989-2012 (label no.HHL189)

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited:
Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art, Recent Acquisitions, London, 2012
D.Priestley and M.Flacks, A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics, London, 2017, pp.128-129, no.58 (published and illustrated)

來源：
Otto (Gertrude) Harriman夫人（1903-1970），並由後人保存
倫敦古董商Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020)，雅典和倫敦，於2012年11月7日從上處獲得

借調：
諾丁漢城堡博物館和藝術畫廊，1989-2012年（標籤編號HHL189）

展覽著錄：
Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art，《Recent Acquisitions》，倫敦，2012年
D.Priestley和M.Flacks，《A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics》，倫敦，2017年，第128-129頁，編號58（著錄插圖）

Otto Karl Herrmann (1900–1950) and his wife Gertrude (1903–1970) were German-born entrepreneurs who became key figures in the artificial pearl and jewellery industry. Originally based in Jablonec nad Nisou, a renowned glass and jewellery centre in Bohemia, they fled to London in 1939 following the Nazi occupation of the Sudetenland. In 1941, they founded Pompadour Products Ltd., a wholesale jewellery business, and later established Ulster Pearls Ltd. in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. Their companies gained prominence when they supplied pearls for Queen Elizabeth II's wedding dress in 1947. After Otto's death, Gertrude continued as the designer, expanding exports globally. Following her passing, her cousin Frantisek (Frank) Kafka, a Czech refugee and war veteran, took over, managing the business until its closure in 1983.

This small jar traces its lineage to similarly shaped vessels popular in silver and ceramic ware during the Tang dynasty, Five Dynasties, and Northern Song periods. The sgraffiato technique demonstrates a high level of craftsmanship. In this jar, intricate foliate scrollwork has been incised through the glossy brown-black glaze, exposing the biscuit ground beneath. To heighten the contrast and enhance the design's visual impact, a light-coloured slip was applied to the exposed areas, creating a striking interplay between the dark glaze and the delicate incised patterns. The occasional brown flecks in the background — left unshaved accidentally — indicate that the entire vessel was initially covered in a brown glaze.

A similar Cizhou sgraffiato black-glazed jar, Northern Song dynasty, is illustrated in Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1994, pp.314-315, no.139. See also a related small Cizhou sgraffiato black-glazed jar, 13th/14th century, illustrated by R.Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Brown and Black-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge MA, 1996, pp.188-189, no.67. See also a similar jar illustrated by J.Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, pl.55 e.

Compare with a similar small Cizhou sgraffiato jar, Song dynasty, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 November 2023, lot 877.