8.4 cm. (3 1/4 in.) high

Provenance:
A Japanese Private Collection

A very similar Junyao vase of the same form on an integral stand was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 29th November 1993, lot 235 and again at Sotheby’s New York, 23rd March 2011, Harmony of Form, Serenity of Color, lot 549.
Very few vases appear to have been produced in the Jun kilns extant examples generally conform to two distinct forms which were made both with and without integral stands. The first type, to which the current vase belongs, has a pear-shaped body that rises to a cylindrical neck flaring slightly at the rim. The second type usually has a shorter neck that flares outwards at the rim and sometimes has twin handles. Examples of the first type without integral stands include a purple-splashed vase in the Victoria and Albert Museum, gifted by Sir John Addis, Museum Accession no. FE.156-1975. Compare, also, a plain blue-glazed vase in the British Museum from the Sir Percival David Collection published in Illustrated Catalogue of Ru, Guan, Jun, Guangdong and Yixing Wares, Percival David Foundation, London, 1999, p. 38, no. 80. Examples of the second type include a Junyao vase with dragon handles and an integral stand from the Songde Tang Collection included in the exhibition The Multiplicity of Simplicity, Monochrome Wares from the Song to the Yuan Dynasties, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 2012, cat. no. 96, where it is noted that it is likely that the Songde Tang vase was produced at the Ru kilns after production officially ceased during the Northern Song dynasty. A close link between the Jun and Ru kilns has been established and it is thought that a number of plain sky-blue glazed Jun wares were actually produced in the Ru kilns. A similar vase with handles and an integral base was included in the Hong Kong Museum of Art exhibition Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 48.

Price estimate:
HKD: 600,000-900,000
USD: 77,400-116,100

Auction Result:
HKD: --