Footnotes

唐 白釉渣斗

Provenance:
Dr Carl Kempe, Ekolsund, collection no.154
Sotheby's London, 14 May 2008, lot 207
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020), Athens and London

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited:
National Museum, Sung Keramisk Guldålder, Stockholm, 1949, no.7 (published and exhibited)
Kunstindustrimuseum, Copenhagen, 1950, no.272 (published and exhibited)
Mostra d'Arte Cinese, Venice, 1954, no.368
The Oriental Ceramic Society, The Arts of the T'ang Dynasty, 1955, London, no.212 (published and exhibited)
Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, no.295 (published and illustrated)
Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, no.76 (an exhibition touring the USA and shown at a further nine museums)
The World's Great Collections: Oriental Ceramics, vol.8, Tokyo, 1982, pl.58 (published and illustrated)
The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Chinese Ceramic Treasures: A Selection from the Ulricehamn East Asian Museum, including The Carl Kempe Collection, Ulricehamn, 2002, pl.504 (published and illustrated)
D.Priestley and M.Flacks, A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics, London, 2017, pp.124-125, no.56 (published and illustrated)
S.Wong and S.Pierson, eds., Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921-2021, London, 2021, pp.172-173, no.51

來源：
Carl Kempe博士，埃克爾桑達，藏品編號154
倫敦蘇富比，2008年5月14日，拍品編號207
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020)，雅典和倫敦

展覽著錄：
瑞典國立博物館，《Sung Keramisk Guldålder》，斯德哥爾摩，1949年，編號7（出版及展覽）
丹麥藝術與設計博物館，哥本哈根，1950年，編號272 （出版及展覽）
《Mostra d'Arte Cinese》，威尼斯，1954年，編號368
東方陶瓷學會，《The Arts of the T'ang Dynasty》，1955年，倫敦，編號212 （出版及展覽）
Bo Gyllensvärd，《Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection》，斯德哥爾摩，1964年，編號295 （著錄插圖）
《Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain》，Asia House Gallery，紐約，1971年，編號76（一個在美國巡展的展覽，後續在9個博物館展出）
《The World's Great Collections: Oriental Ceramics》，第8卷，東京，1982年，插圖58（著錄插圖）
烏爾裡瑟港藝術與遠東文物博物館，《Chinese Ceramic Treasures: A Selection from the Ulricehamn East Asian Museum, including The Carl Kempe Collection》，烏爾裡瑟港，2002年，插圖504（著錄插圖）
D.Priestley和M.Flacks，《A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics》，倫敦，2017年，第124-125頁，編號56（著錄插圖）
S.Wong和S.Pierson編，《百年清賞：東方陶瓷學會的收藏家、鑑賞家及博物館員》，倫敦，2021年，第172-173頁，編號51

Dr Carl Kempe (1884–1967) was a Swedish industrialist, art collector, and a significant figure in the study and appreciation of Chinese art. Renowned for his discerning taste and scholarship, Kempe amassed one of the most comprehensive collections of Chinese ceramics, spanning from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty. His collection, particularly strong in Song dynasty wares, included rare examples of Jun, Ru, and Cizhou ceramics. A dedicated researcher, he published extensively on Chinese porcelain, helping to advance Western understanding of Chinese art and its historical context. Kempe was a key member of the Oriental Ceramic Society and maintained close relationships with museums, scholars, and other collectors, fostering international dialogue about Chinese art. His collection was exhibited widely, and pieces from it have entered major institutions, further solidifying his legacy as a pivotal figure in the dissemination and appreciation of Chinese ceramics in the West.

Vessels of this type, often referred to as spittoons or zhadou in Chinese, have a form inspired by metalwork prototypes. See, for example, two Tang dynasty silver zhadou illustrated in Tangdai Jinyin Qi, Beijing, 1985, nos.255 and 278, the first excavated at Xi'an, and the second with slightly concave mouth rim found in a tomb in Linan Xian Shiu Qiushi, Zhejiang Province. The shape of the present lot suggests a utilitarian function as a spittoon, but the exceptional quality of the potting and glazing: on a par with the finest contemporary tableware, challenges this interpretation. It is more plausible that these vessels were involved in the intricate rituals of tea or wine preparation and pouring, leading to their designation here as 'leys-jars'. This particular example is masterfully crafted in two sections: the enclosed, jar-like lower body rests on a wide, stable base, while the flaring, five-lobed, shallow bowl-shaped mouth, featuring a central aperture, connects to the lower part via a slender neck. The entire vessel is coated with a luscious creamy-white slip and finished with a clear glaze, showcasing both technical and aesthetic refinement.

Compare with a very similar white-glazed leys jar with petal-shaped mouth, Tang dynasty, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1996, p.157, no.144. Compare also with a related white-glazed zhadou, Tang dynasty, in the Shanxi Provincial Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China, vol.5, Beijing, 2008, p.45, pl.45.