LONGQUAN CELADON BOWL.

CHINA.

SHANXI PROVINCE.

SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY.

12TH - 13TH CENTURY.

H. 7 CMS, 2 ¾ INS.

D. 18.4 CMS, 7 3/16 INS.

A longquan celadon bowl, the exterior moulded with lotus petals at the base beneath a floral band at the rim, the interior with a single incised peony spray within a central medallion, the soft sea-green glaze suffused with clear crackle and thinning to white at various parts of the moulding.

Longquan wares were mostly decorated with a greenish glaze and were made at kilns centred in the Longquan area of southern Zhejiang province, from the Song to the early Qing dynasty.

For a similar bowl see fig. 269, He Li, Chinese Ceramics: The New Standard Guide, Thames and Hudson, 1996. There is also a similar example in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

PROVENANCE: Private French collection. Previously sold at Christies Hong Kong, 18th March 1991, Lot 507.