Northern White-ware Double-Gourd Ewer with Guan Mark
Liao or Five Dynasties,10th c. A.D., China
Height: 21.6 cm
A porcelaineous stoneware ewer covered with a translucent ivory colored glaze that stops just short of its finely potted foot rim. The piece is formed of two spheres conjoined by a narrow connection giving it the appearance of a double gourd. The bottom section has a slightly flattened and ridged spout formed for pouring sideways. (old repair at tip.) A wide, flattened looped handle joins the top and bottom sections, and has a molded floral decoration. The unglazed under-foot has an incised "guan" character, incised after firing. A piece of similar form, but with double strand handle, appears in Xing Kiln of China, Beijing, 2012, pl. 97.
Provenance:
Private American Collection
Zetterquist Galleries, 2014
Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection
Cizhou Ewer
Jin Dynasty (12-13th century A.D.)
Height: 14cm
A stoneware ewer with a stout, covered-bowl shaped body with short spout and cylindrical neck, all covered with a white slip over a dark clay body, over which is an even translucent glaze.
The handle, in addition to its white underglaze has a geometric design in an iron-oxide, resembling the impressed patterns found on early Yaozhou handles.
The handle has two restored cracks.
A piece of identical form, but with carved decoration, is in the Cleveland Museum of Art, and published in their 1978 Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art, pg. 336.
From a private American collection.
