An exhibition of fine Chinese ceramics from the Song dynasty will be staged by Eskenazi Limited, one of the world’s leading dealers in Chinese art, at PaceWildenstein, 32 East 57^th Street, New York, from Monday 19 to Saturday 31 March 2007.  The first exhibition to be held outside Eskenazi’s London gallery took place in New York in March 1997 and they have returned each Spring since then.

In November 2003, at their London gallery, Eskenazi held the first in a series of exhibitions of ceramics from the Song dynasty, 960-1279 AD.  Two years later, this was followed by a show of the Song items entrusted to the gallery for sale by the heirs of the celebrated connoisseur, the late Hans Popper.  Visitors to the exhibition Song: Chinese ceramics, 10^th to 13^th century (part 3) in New York in March will have the opportunity to see an entirely fresh selection of twenty rare Song pieces, acquired by Eskenazi over the past few years.

The Song dynasty was culturally a brilliant era in Chinese history and a time of great social and economic change.  This period saw an unsurpassed refinement in many of the arts and crafts, especially in the field of ceramic technology and appreciation.  Song wares are noted for their perfection of form and the variety of their glazes - often in muted, subtle tones - achieved through unceasing experimentation.

The Northern Song period, 960-1127, saw the rise in China of a new leisured class, with the result, among other things, of an increase in ceramic production.  Imperial patronage also played a role in this.  In 1127 the emperor and the court were forced to flee south of the Huai river to Zhejiang province following the invasion of the north by the Jin tartars.  The new, southern imperial court was established at Hangzhou, stimulating an already flourishing ceramic industry in the area and bringing new models and methods from the north.  At the same time, the already established northern kilns, far from withering away, continued to expand production, both of so-called ‘official’ wares and of more utilitarian stonewares.

Amongst the highlights of the exhibition will be a superb white-glazed Ding ware dish of the Northern Song period, with carved decoration and cream-toned glaze, exemplifying the very best of the first type of porcelain commissioned by imperial order (cat. 4).  From the Southern Song period, dating from after the forced flight of the imperial court - and representative of one of the most beautiful and sought-after wares in all Chinese ceramic art - is a blue-green glazed guanyao flower-shaped dish from the Hangzhou kilns (cat. 16).  Both these pieces, being ‘official’ wares, have been handed down from generation to generation.  Their history can be traced back, in the west, at least to the 1930s, to the famous collections of, respectively, C.T. Loo and J.M. Hu.

The Ding kilns are strongly represented.  An exceptional example is the meiping or wide-shouldered vase with narrow mouth decorated with exuberant design of scrolling peonies, a great rarity that has survived in perfect condition (cat. 5).  Also of interest is an unusual creamy-white-glazed pillow, inscribed with three characters meaning ‘heavenly flower pillow’, placed just under where the head would have lain.

The exhibition will also feature a selection of other wares, from both north and south of the country, now considered the equal of these ‘official’ ceramics, showing the range and artistry of the numerous kilns that supplied this burgeoning industry.  Perhaps of greatest interest, and of exceptional rarity, is a celadon-glazed stoneware jar from the Yaozhou kilns of Shaanxi province.  It is almost spherical in form and boldly carved overall with interlocking geometric patterns filled with flower and leaf forms (cat. 13).  Only one other comparable vessel seems to have been recorded.

The Jun kilns, in Henan province in the north, are famous for their stonewares covered with opaque light blue glaze, sometimes vividly splashed with purple.  They may also have initially supplied ‘official’ wares in the 11^th century and only ceased production several centuries later.  Jun wares have always been admired and collected, none more so than the ‘bubble bowls’ that can be cradled in the palm of one hand - so-called because the particular combination of size, shape and glaze creates the optical illusion of a transparent bubble nestling inside the bowl. The present example, from the Northern Song period, 11^th-12^th century, was formally in the collections of Edward T. Chow and J.M. Hu (cat. 7).  It is a tribute to the taste of these two connoisseurs and is remarkable for the beauty of its shaded purple and mauve coloured copper-oxide brushwork contrasting with bright blue glaze.  Another piece from the Jun kilns is a purple-splashed blue-glazed tripod censer .  It dates to the period of non-Chinese Jin rule in north China, 12^th-13^th century, after the Chinese court had been driven to the southern part of the country.  However, it is entirely in the tradition of pieces made before the Jin invaded; to them, as to their Yuan Mongol successors, most aspects of Chinese culture were to be treasured and adopted rather than destroyed.

A particularly striking meiping of Jizhou ware from the kilns at Yonghe, Ji’an, Jiangxi province, in the south, dates from the late Song/early Yuan period, 13^th-14^th century.  It is of a sturdy stoneware with a smooth, opaque dark brown glaze decorated with splashes, streaks and spots of densely packed, buff coloured wood-ash glaze.

Since the family business was founded in Milan in 1925, the Eskenazi name has become synonymous with expertise in oriental art.  Giuseppe Eskenazi, who has been head of the business for over 40 years, has an unrivalled reputation for his knowledge and love of the subject.  His clients include many of the world’s major museums and private collectors.

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Exhibition title: Song: Chinese ceramics, 10^th to 13^th century (part 3)

Location: PaceWildenstein, 7^th floor, 32 East 57^th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA

Tel. +1 212 421 3688, www.eskenazi.co.uk

Dates: 19 to 31 March 2007

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 10.00 am to 5.30 pm

Catalogue: The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue,

price £20, US$40 or  €35 (inc. postage)

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