Footnotes

南宋 龍泉窯青釉鳳耳瓶

Provenance:
Spink & Son Ltd., London
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020), Athens and London, acquired from the above on 7 March 1973

Published and Illustrated:
D.Priestley and M.Flacks, A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics, London, 2017, pp.24-25, no.6

來源：
倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020)，雅典和倫敦，從上處獲得於1973年3月7日

著錄：
D.Priestley和M.Flacks，《A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics》，倫敦，2007年，第24-25頁，編號6

The Longquan celadon glaze is renowned for its thick, translucent quality and its rich, jade-like texture. The glaze on this vase exemplifies the sought-after soft bluish-green hue, a colour that potters found exceptionally challenging to perfect but has long captivated connoisseurs. This exquisite glaze type is often referred to by its Japanese name, kinuta, which originally means 'mallet', which derives from mallet-shaped vases, such as the present lot, which were imported into Japan during the Southern Song and Yuan dynasties. Over time, kinuta became synonymous with this highly prized glaze colour.

Interestingly, some scholars propose that the shape of these mallet vases, although reminiscent of a paper mallet, may have originated as glass vessels or bottles from the Islamic West, possibly Persia. Supporting this theory, an Islamic glass bottle vase, probably from Nishapur, North East Iran, was among the treasures found in the tomb of the Princess of Chen, Liao dynasty, dating to no later than 1018 and illustrated in Grand View: Special Exhibition of Ju Ware from the Northern Sung Dynasty, Taipei, 2007, no.25, fig.2. This provides compelling evidence of cultural exchanges between China and the Islamic world during this time.

A very similar Longquan celadon-glazed mallet vase with a pair of phoenix-shaped handles, in the Qing Court Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, p.110, no.98. Another with fish handles is illustrated Ibid, p.110, no.96. Another similar Longquan celadon mallet shaped vase with phoenix handles, Southern Song dynasty, is illustrated in Song Ceramics from the Laiyantang Collection, 2010, pp.116-117, no.49.

Compare with a similar Longquan celadon 'twin-phoenix' mallet vase, Southern Song/Yuan dynasty, which was sold at Christie's New York, 23 March 2023, lot 889.