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Expert’s note:
Generally speaking, the proportion of purple in Jun glazes increased from Song through Yuan and into the Ming dynasty. As copper is an exceptionally capricious colorant, even minute variations in its purity and dosage, as well as in the control of the kiln atmosphere, can produce dramatically different results; the increasingly confident mastery of these variables during the later Song and Yuan periods is reflected in examples such as the present bowl.
While a broader Yuan–early Ming date could also be considered for the present lot, we have deliberately remained as close as possible to the original attribution by the Frankels, refining it only to Yuan in light of current scholarship.
Given the exceptional quality of their collection, which included several of the celebrated Jun 'Narcissus' bowls alongside other highly important Jun wares, their dating was almost certainly made through direct comparison with securely attributed Song, Yuan and Ming examples, lending considerable weight to their original assessment. It may also be noteworthy that Edith Frankel expressly described the piece as having an "excellent purple splash" in a handwritten annotation on the original invoice.
The full complexity of the glaze is most vividly revealed in close detail (fig. 1). Rose-red and pale blue interlace in a dense, fluid web, while broader passages of blue course across the surface in sinuous currents. In the reducing atmosphere of the high-temperature kiln, copper in the glaze developed the crimson and violet tones, while microscopic phase separation within the molten glaze formed minute droplets that scattered light and produced Jun’s characteristic opalescent blue. As the glaze flowed and cooled, these effects coalesced into a surface of vitreous depth and extraordinary movement.
The enduring prestige of early Jun glazes is reflected in the imperial ceramics they inspired centuries later. Their palette found monumental expression in the famous numbered Jun wares of the early Ming court; under the Yongzheng Emperor, Jun became the subject of systematic experimentation at Jingdezhen. In his 1735 Taocheng jishi bei ji, Tang Ying, superintendent of the imperial kilns, recorded that no fewer than nine varieties of Jun glaze had been developed on imperial orders, five of which were based directly on Song originals sent from the Forbidden City. A similarly colored Jun-imitation tianqiuping, with a Yongzheng mark and of the period, was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 18 September 2024, lot 8 (fig. 2), for USD 480,000 or approx. EUR 443,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation). The Imperial Ming and Qing reinterpretations brought the Jun effect under far greater control, achieving surfaces of consummate refinement. The present dish retains the freedom of the earlier tradition, its colors pooling, veining, and dissolving across the surface with a spontaneity that makes its beauty all the more arresting.
China, circa 13th-14th century. Finely potted with shallow rounded sides rising from a tall, slightly spreading foot to a gently curved rim. The interior is covered in a particularly attractive reddish-purple glaze suffused over a sky-blue tone, thinning to a pale mushroom color at the rim. The exterior is similarly glazed in mottled purple and blue tones, stopping around the foot to reveal the buff stoneware body.
Provenance: The E & J Frankel Collection, New York, 1986. The Betty Eisler Collection, New York, acquired from the above and thence by descent. A copy of the signed invoice from E & J Frankel, dated 23 December 1986, addressed to Betty Eisler, confirming the provenance and dating above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of USD 4,000 or approx. EUR 11,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. E & J Frankel was a major New York gallery specializing in Asian Art since 1967. Run by Edith (1939-2012) and Joel Frankel (1937-2018), it was one of the oldest galleries in the United States focusing exclusively on Asian art. Leaders in their field, the Frankels traveled the world in search of Asian art treasures and educated the general public about their shared passion. Their gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City became a local institution, best known for its regular schedule of innovative thematic exhibitions, and frequently visited by the biggest names in the field, such as Eskenazi, Ellsworth, Junkunc, and the Alsdorfs. Betty Ellen Eisler (1926-2023) was a proud-and-loud lifetime New Yorker and longtime fashion merchandising executive. After attending the Tobe-Coburn School for Fashion Careers, she worked for 35 years as a national buyer and merchandise manager. After she retired in 1989, she helped her cousin Harold Gottesman with his Manhattan Mini Storage business, where she developed and ran the collection process. She was an avid collector of antique Chinese ceramics and loved to travel. Pieces from her collection are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities including dark spots, light crackling. Tiny losses to foot and a small fatigue crack to rim.
Weight: 144 g
Dimensions: Diameter 13.2 cm
Jun ware took shape during the Song dynasty among the kilns around present-day Yuzhou in northern Henan. Its repertoire consisted largely of bowls, dishes, cups, jars, and small vases, their robust, economical forms covered in opalescent glazes ranging from moon-white and lavender to saturated sky blue. Purple and crimson splashes appeared from an early stage, animating these restrained shapes with irregular passages of color and establishing the chromatic language that came to define the ware.
Production continued and broadened under the Jin and Yuan dynasties, as the Jun tradition spread beyond its original centers and its chromatic possibilities were pursued with increasing boldness. During the Yuan dynasty, rose-red and purple could spread across almost the entire vessel, leaving only drifting veins and pools of blue. Red-dominated wares such as the present dish represent the most dramatic extension of this development, expanding the earlier vocabulary of splash and accent into an enveloping field of color.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 September 2021, lot 161
Price: USD 75,600 or approx. EUR 80,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A purple-splashed 'Jun' bowl, Yuan dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related glaze with a similar reddish purple dominating on the exterior of this bowl. Note the size (18.1 cm).
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