A LARGE AND RARE 'YUE' CHICKEN-HEAD EWER, c. 570 AD China, Southern Dynasties (420-589) to Sui dynasty (589-619). The compressed globular body rising from a tall waisted foot, surmounted by a long waisted neck with a galleried rim, set on the shoulder with a double-stranded handle ending with a dragon head biting the angular rim, opposite a chicken-head mock spout and two strap handles on each side of the shoulder, splashed with a thin olive-green glaze dripping irregularly toward the foot. Provenance: From a private collection in Bath, United Kingdom. Nicholas Pitcher Oriental Art, London, acquired from the above. Nicholas Sotheby Pitcher was formerly a director of Christie's and lead the Oriental Department in South Kensington from 1976 to 1990, after which he left to set up his own business, specializing in early Chinese pottery and bronzes, and later Chinese works of art. Condition: Superb condition with minor old wear and some firing flaws. Extremely rare in this pristine state of preservation. Weight: 4,270 g Dimensions: Height 44 cm The so-called 'Heavenly Chicken Ewers' with their mock spouts, which can either be solid, or hollow but without connection to the inside, or with a tiny, non-functional pierced opening, were purposefully made as tomb wares. They are perhaps the most distinctive and representative ceramic vessels of the tumultuous, yet innovative period between the Han (206 BC to AD 220) and Tang dynasties (618-907). Production began in the Jin dynasty (265-420) by the southern Yue kilns of Zhejiang province, but was soon copied by other southern manufactories and later adopted by northern celadon kilns. The wide use of such ceramics, including the tombs of emperors, reflects the auspicious symbolism of the chicken motif. Chickens were believed to have the power to exorcise evils, cure diseases and have other beneficent effects. Images of chickens were therefore painted and real chickens or replicas in cast metal or carved wood were hung on front doors. In Chinese, the word for chicken is homophonous with the term 'auspicious' and as a motif chickens enjoyed continuous popularity right up to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) periods, when they provided the decoration of the fabled imperial porcelain 'chicken cups'. This ewer with its finely detailed chicken and dragon heads ranks among the largest examples of its type. Chicken-head ewers generally range from 10 to 35 cm in height and the present piece is one of the very few examples of larger size. The remains of a chicken-head ewer of similar proportions (43 cm high), but with the chicken head missing, were recovered from the tomb of the Northern Wei emperor Xuanwu (reigned 500-515) in Luoyang, Henan province, together with two smaller similar ewers (of about 36 cm), see Kaogu 1994, no. 9, pl. 4, fig. 6. For another ewer from the tomb of Prince Gao Run (543-575), brother of the founding emperor of the Northern Qi dynasty (550-577), in Cixian, Hebei, see Kaogu 1979, no. 3, pl. 4, fig. 4. Literature comparison: Ewers of comparable size and shape to this lot are extremely rare. One such vessel was unearthed from a Northern Qi tomb in Hejian county, Hebei, see Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji / Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China, Beijing, 2008, vol. 3, pl. 15. Other examples from the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, and other collections are illustrated in Yutaka Mino and Katherine R. Tsiang, Ice and Green Clouds: Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1987, cat. no. 36 and figs. 36 a-e. For comparison see a Yue ware ewer included in the exhibition Vibrant Greens, Celadon Glazes over Two Millennia: Masterpieces from the East Zhejiang Museum of Yue Celadon Ware, Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology, Peking University, Beijing, 2013, cat. no. 68. Compare also a related Yue chicken-head ewer (47.9 cm high), dated c. 570 AD, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 2007.38. Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related Yue chicken-head ewer (48.3 cm high), dated to the Southern Dynasties, but with lugs instead of strap handles to the shoulder, at Sotheby's New York in Song Tradition: Early Ceramics From The Yang De Tang Collection on 17 March 2015, lot 55, bought-in at an estimate of USD 200,000-300,000. 約公元570年前後罕見的大型越窯雞首壺 中國，南朝 (420-589) 至隋朝 (589-619)。淺盤口，長頸，上腹稍鼓，下腹斜直，平底。以雞首流作裝飾，手柄呈弧形，上端呈龍首接於沿口，下端連於器肩。壺身施淡青釉，不及底。整器施青釉，釉滴自然下落，裝飾簡潔，質而不華。 來源：英國巴斯私人收藏。英國Nicholas Pitcher Oriental Art藝廊，購於上述收藏。Nicholas Sotheby Pitcher 1976年至1990年間曾是南肯辛頓佳士得經理，領導東方藝術部。之後他自立門戶，專門經營中國早期陶器和青銅以及晚期的工藝美術品。 品相：狀況極佳，有輕微的舊時磨損和一些燒製缺陷。 這樣的原始保存狀態極為罕見。 重量：4,270 克 尺寸：高44 厘米 所謂的“天雞壺”，其雞首流是實心的，也可以是空心的，但與內部沒有聯繫，或者有一個微小的、無功能的穿孔，為墓葬用品。 它們可能是漢代（公元前 206 年至公元 220 年）至唐朝（618-907 年）動盪而又創新時期中最具特色和代表性的陶瓷器皿。 生產始於晉代（265-420）浙江南越窯，但很快被其他窯複製，後來被北方青瓷採用。 這種陶瓷的廣泛使用，包括皇家陵墓，都表明了雞的吉祥象徵意義。 雞被認為具有驅邪、治病和其他吉祥意義。 因此，古時經常可以看到雞的圖像被掛在前門。在中文中，雞這個詞與“吉”一詞諧音，一直到明代（1368-1644）和清代（1644-1911）。特別著名的有雞缸杯。 這個帶有精緻的雞首和龍頭的提壺是同類中最大一個。 雞首壺的高度通常在 10 到 35 厘米之間，這個雞首壺是為數不多的較大尺寸的例子之一。 河南洛陽北魏宣武帝（公元500-515年）墓出土的一個比例相近（43厘米高）、但雞首缺失的雞首壺殘片，連同兩個稍小的相似提壺（約 36 厘米），見《考古》，1994, no. 9, pl. 4, fig. 6. ；另一件見北齊武成帝(550-577)之弟高潤 (543-575) 墓，河北磁縣，見《考古》1979, no. 3, pl. 4, fig. 4。 文獻比較：與此拍品大小和形狀相當的提壺極為罕見。河北河間縣北齊墓出土一器，見《中國出土瓷器全集/中國出土陶瓷藝術全集》，北京，2008年，第3冊，圖15； 另一件見東京出光美術館、大阪東方陶瓷博物館和其他出版于Yutaka Mino 和 Katherine R. Tsiang，《冰與綠雲：中國青瓷的傳統》，印第安納波利斯美術館，印第安納波利斯，1987 年，目錄36 和圖36 a-e。作為比較，請參見浙江美術館越窯展覽《Yue ware ewer included in the exhibition Vibrant Greens, Celadon Glazes over Two Millennia》中的越窯壺，Arthur M. Sackler Museum藝術和考古美術館與北京大學，北京，2013年，編號 68；一個越窯雞首壺（高47.9厘米），公元 570 年，明尼阿波利斯藝術學院收藏，編號 2007.38。 拍賣結果比較：一件越窯雞首壺 (高48.3 厘米)，南朝，以耳代替提梁見紐約蘇富比 Song Tradition: Early Ceramics From The Yang De Tang Collection 2015年3月17日 lot 55, 估價USD 200,000-300,000。