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A LARGE AND EXCEEDINGLY RARE BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN MOON FLASK WITH COASTAL LANDSCAPE SCENES, JOSEON DYNASTY Korea, 18th-19th century. Skillfully modeled, with a circular body supported on an elongated octagonal foot and surmounted by a conical neck with an everted rim, the shoulders applied with long-tailed animal handles. The exterior painted in underglaze cobalt blue on a clear white ground, depicting on both sides coastal landscape scenes with small, stilted houses over the calm waters, gliding boats gliding, and distant islands faintly visible on the horizon. The shoulders of the vessel further decorated with two auspicious calligraphic characters. Provenance: From The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012. Condition: Excellent condition with only surface wear and firing-inherent irregularities, including light pitting, fine intentional glaze crackling, and kiln grit to the base. Weight: 2,754 g Dimensions: Height 33.2 cm Porcelain moon flasks are known in Chinese as ‘baoyueping’ (literally meaning ‘embracing the moon’) and originated during the Ming dynasty, after which they soon became among the most celebrated forms of pottery in the centuries that followed and were readily assimilated by Japanese and Korean artists. Their distinctive circular profile derives from Middle Eastern metalwork introduced to China via the Silk Road. Certain imperial examples were produced on a monumental scale, reaching heights of over 50 centimeters high. Independently from their size, these flasks always required an exceptionally high level of technical mastery, as their form often necessitated construction from multiple sections that were assembled and fired together. Owing to their inherent asymmetry and top-heavy structure, unlike vessels formed by wheel throwing, these works were particularly vulnerable during firing, and many collapsed within the kiln or toppled under their own weight. Expert’s note: Used primarily as storage vessels and occasionally as vases for monumental floral arrangements at banquets and ceremonial occasions, such large flasks were widely favored in Korea from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Many were decorated with striding dragons, while others featured tigers or other auspicious creatures. Still others were embellished with floral motifs or propitious Chinese characters. Figural decoration is rare, but the rarest of all boasts landscape imagery, rendering the present example exceptionally innovative and virtually unique within the corpus of Joseon porcelain. The painted landscapes on either side of this vessel evoke a Daoist sensibility and engage themes cherished by both Korean and Chinese literati, including the moon and gentle breezes, flowing streams and fishing. Literature comparison: Compare a related blue and white porcelain jar with four similar coastal landscape roundels and a poem, Korea, Joseon dynasty, 18th century, 36.8 cm high, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2024, lot 282.

재료

Porcelain