A superb carved 'Longquan' celadon-glazed 'lotus' bowl, Southern Song dynasty

Sotheby's London, 9th June 2004, lot 178.

With its elegant form, unctuous glaze and exceptional jade-like color, the present bowl is a fine example of the high-Song dynasty (960–1279) aesthetic, which prized subtlety, harmony, and refined craftsmanship. 

Towards the end of the 12th century, traditional lime glaze was replaced by a lime-alkali glaze, creating a higher viscosity and softer gloss. Multiple layers of glaze were often applied to capture a jade-like effect, a technique that was probably adopted from the Guan wares of the period. The rich lustrous bluish-green glaze seen on the present bowl would have been considered a masterpiece of the Longquan potter. As light reflects on the glaze, it lends the surface an almost watery translucency, bestowing an elegant, and refined radiance to the piece. The translucency of the glaze, thinning and pooling over the graceful petals on the exterior also further accentuates the elegant silhouette of the bowl, creating a gentle, tactile undulation.

Several lotus bowls of this type of various sizes are illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, nos 539-544, where the author notes that the finest Longquan wares were produced in the Southern Song period and that while this type of bowl was produced in large qualities during the Song and Yuan dynasties, the earlier bowls are distinguished by their clarity of glaze and finely carved petals (see p. 290). See further examples illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji [The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics], vol. 8: Song Dynasty, Shanghai, 2000, figs 111 and 112; an example with a flared rim is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 17.57.1) and illustrated on the Museum's website. For closely related bowls sold at auction, see one, previously in the Pauline and Johnny Falk Collection, most recently sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 2nd December 2015, lot 2805; one included in Marchant's 2022 exhibition Chinese Ceramics Tang to Song, London, cat. no. 42 and sold in these rooms, 20th March 2024, lot 150; and lastly, one from an important European collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th April 2024, lot 53.