A MASSIVE, ENAMELLED AND RELIEF DECORATED CERAMIC ‘RỒNG AND PHƯỢNG HOÀNG – DRAGON AND PHOENIX’ LIME-PASTE POT VIETNAM, QUẢNG ĐỨC KILNS, 19TH CENTURY OR EARLIER Resting on a spreading foot, with a globular body surmounted by a bow-shaped handled, the front part with a hole. The body is enamelled notably in red and blue. It is further adorned with an applied relief decoration depicting a dragon on the front, a phoenix on the back, pine trees on the sides, right below the ends of the handles, and bound scrolls on both sides of the handle. H: 24 cm MỘT BÌNH ĐỰNG VÔI ĂN TRẦU BẰNG GỐM THÔ, ĐƯỢC TRÁNG MEN VÀ TRANG TRÍ CHẠM NỔI “RỒNG AND PHƯỢNG HOÀNG – DRAGON AND PHOENIX” VIỆT NAM, LÒ NUNG QUẢNG ĐỨC, THẾ KỶ 19 HOẶC TRƯỚC ĐÓ Notes: 1. Following the tradition, our lime-paste pot is naturalistically shaped as a betel-quid. Indeed, the globular body is shaped after the rocks from which the lime is extracted. The handle is shaped as an Areca tree trunk with vertical streaks. The curvy handle’s ends are shaped as areca nuts. On another note, conjoined dragon and phoenix represent the union of a man and a woman. 2. In Vietnam, betel chewing is an age-old custom. Numerous are the tools used to prepare it, amidst which the lime-paste pots, ours being a good example, but also wooden betel box (tráp trầu), betel trays (cơi trầu) and areca knives. Lime-paste pots would all have been created by talented potters, each piece being a unique one, and each piece involving a process of creativity and originality. Most of them would have been enamelled and with no mark. There would have been one in each single house for a domestic use. 3. According to scholar Nguyên Xuân Hiên: ‘The Vietnamese consider lime pots as a representative of God […] People did not say, ‘I go to buy’ but to ‘invite a Mister Lime Pot’. The vulgar term mua (to buy) was replaced by the respectful term thỉnh (to invite). People, who wanted to invite a lime pot, had to prepare in advance a square of new, red cloth. On an auspicious day, they put this cloth in a clean basket and brought it on their head to the market […] Then the owners covered the ‘Invited Pot’ with the cloth and brought it back on their head. It was forbidden to carry a lime pot by its handle’ (cf. Nguyên Xuân Hiên entitled ‘Betel-Chewing in Vietnam, Its Past and Current Importance’, an article available HERE). NOTE: CONDITION REPORTS AND MEASUREMENTS It is up to the bidder to satisfy themselves prior to buying as to the condition of a lot. In relation to Condition Reports, whilst we make certain observations on the lot, which are intended to be as helpful as possible, references in the condition report to damage or restoration are for guidance. The absence of such a reference does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. The condition report is an expression of opinion only and must not be treated as a statement of fact. Measurements and weight are approximate and the potential bidder may re-ask it to be checked when asking for a condition report. NOTE: CONDITION REPORTS AND MEASUREMENTS It is up to the bidder to satisfy themselves prior to buying as to the condition of a lot. In relation to Condition Reports, whilst we make certain observations on the lot, which are intended to be as helpful as possible, references in the condition report to damage or restoration are for guidance. The absence of such a reference does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. The condition report is an expression of opinion only and must not be treated as a statement of fact. Measurements and weight are approximate and the potential bidder may re-ask it to be checked when asking for a condition report.