Ancient Longquan Celadons from Ming Dynasty sold at Sotheby’s
Ancient Longquan Celadons from Ming Dynasty sold at Sotheby’s .
Currently, many highly-sought articles of Longquan Celadon from the revered Unesco-certified Longquan kilns in China, have made sales on the auction market. As shown here in the image below, this large Longquan Celadon ‘dragon-fish’ handled baluster vase from the Ming Dynasty was estimated to take home prices ranging from 4-5k GBP. The lot ended up selling for an impressive 5,040 GBP ($9102 SGD). The piece is currently a property of a private German collection. Articles of celadon ware like these are highly coveted due to the tireless lineage of traditional master craftsmanship that is unique to the Longquan province. Not only that, but it’s time of creation dating back a few hundred years to the imperial Ming Dynasty, makes this artisanal piece of Longquan Celadon ideal for a heritage or historical collection.
History of the Longquan Kilns in Zhejiang province,China
The Longquan kiln is one of the Song Dynasty's six notable kiln clusters (960-1279). It was given this name since the famed celadon ceramics are made in Zhejiang Province's Longquan City. Longquan celadon first appeared during the Three Kingdoms (220-280) and Jin Dynasty (265-420), and reached its pinnacle during the Southern Song Dynasty's middle and later periods (1127-1279). Its craftsmanship combines the best of traditional Chinese porcelain-making techniques. It is a model of Song ceramic goods due to its beautiful designs and glazing colour.
Longquan celadon is distinguished by its greenish or greyish blue glaze, which recalls the quality of jade. Longquan celadon has a rough, hefty body with a reasonably thick wall. The glaze is thin and comes in a variety of colours, including plum green, pink blue, pea green, and crab-shell blue, among others. Longquan celadon manufacturers have worked tirelessly for generations to achieve a glaze that is as flawless as jade. Many prominent professors and men of literature have praised the celadon goods created in famous kilns. Only the Longquan celadon goods with plum green and pink blue glaze can be compared to jade in terms of quality. They both have a thick, opaque glazing that creates a glossy, soft impression.
Contemporary Longquan Celadon pieces at Jade Celadon.
Four centuries on since its inception, the site of the famous kilns at Longquan, which got its Unesco-certified stamp of approval in 2009, still continues to use the same traditions of ancient craftsmanship passed down generations, to create their one-of-a-kind contemporary celadon pieces today.
At Jade Celadon, we host a wide selection of these authentic Longquan jade celadon pieces, which are contemporary artworks with their own unique lineage and history seated in ancient Chinese craftsmanship and heritage.
Pictured below, we have a “Prosperity Koi Vase”, with dimensions 15.5x34cm. The Price for this contemporary piece is currently $1280 SGD.
If you are interesting in purchasing our Prosperity Koi Vase or any other products, you may click this link to view it: https://celadon.sg/products/celadon-vase-with-koi-handles